Dave - Great article! Lots of history and current information.
Well, you know I have wanted a red blooming Crape Myrtle. Checked all over and no one had any locally. Figured I might have to try and get it online (for probably a small fortune, which I didn't really want to do). Today, I walked into the garden center at my local Home Depot and guess what I found????
Black Diamond "Crimson Red". They had about a dozen of them in the back of the garden center. They caught my eye immediately. I bought one. They were $12.98 for a 4' plant. I couldn't believe it! Exactly what I wanted right here in town! What luck!! My husband likes the one I got so much, he told me to go back and get another one as a back-up. So I will do that tomorrow!
Now I know that the Black Diamond label is the "other" company selling Dr. Cecil Pounders Ebony brand Crape Myrtles. And I know that BD Crimson Red is actually 'Ebony Fire'. Sad that others are going to be making a fortune off his breeding work. For me, though, I found what I wanted at a price I could afford.
Now I have a question for you. If I wanted to add photos of mine to the Plant Database, should I put them under Ebony Fire or Crimson Red?
Also, there seems to be two distinct trunks in the pot:
Should I split them or keep them together?
How do you weave several trunks together?
I want to try to grow the plant(s) as standards. From the label, it says they grow to about 10' tall and 8' wide. Perfect size for where I want to plant it (them).
