Karen is a writer and editor with more than 25 years of print and digital media experience working in newspapers, educational publishing, marketing, nonprofits, and magazines. Daylilies (Hemerocallis ...

Dear Neil: I planted white crape myrtles on the west and east sides of my patio 10 years ago. As I sit there, I see a fine mist dropping to the ground. The grass refuses to grow beneath the trees even ...

Spring is just around the corner and all the leaves are gone from your favorite crape myrtle bush. It is now time to decide if you want to prune or not. The decision is yours, not anyone else like ...

Q: I lost my dwarf kumquat tree in a freeze. I’ve tried to find a replacement locally, but the various garden centers say they are not profitable to sell. Do you have any suggestions of where I might ...

A: A crape myrtle shedding bark is completely normal. Also referred to as ‘exfoliating bark’, this process simply reveals newer inner bark, often cinnamon red in color. This process can be more ...

Crape myrtles are hardy, low-maintenance plants that come in a variety of sizes and colors. To encourage summer blooms, prune crape myrtles in late winter or early spring before new growth starts.

We all enjoy the colorful blooms of flowering crape myrtles in the summer. But it’s those same trees that all too often fall victim to a misguided winter ritual known as “crape murder,” the aggressive ...

Crape myrtles begin blooming in early July, keeps flowering through our blazing summers when everything else is fiery hot, and doesn’t stop until the days begin to cool in early October. “I’m melting, ...