Chinese Fringe Tree or Crepe Myrtle
Question from Jan:
I had a multiple white birch tree that was part of my landscape in my front yard, had it for about 20 years and died this last fall. I want to replace it with a Chinese Fringe or Crepe Myrtle and am concerned about roots since the tree will be near the house. Which would you recommend? On a different subject, I love your Southern California Gardening Month-By-Month Guide, it is my bible for gardening, everyone in Southern California should have one!
Answer from Pat:
Thanks so much for your kind words about my book and for spreading the word. (Some folks still haven’t heard of this book.)
Silver birch trees with multiple trunks are lovely and remind people of gardens they had back east, so they are sold here by nurseries that should know better and planted by unwitting gardeners. They are not well adapted in Southern California and inevitably die a tragic death from one of multiple possible causes, most likely beetles. So losing one is traumatic and choosing a replacement not easy, but you have come up with a couple of good ideas and both have beautiful bark.
Chinese fringe tree (Chionensis retusus) is a handsome choice, breathtakingly lovely when covered with white flowers in spring. This has lovely gray-brown bark in winter. I have seen Chinese fringe tree in places where these trees lived for years in confined space, such as a parking strip so should be all right near the house. Spring flowers are spectacular and this tree can be trained as a multi-trunked large shrub. If you live in Sunset Zones 22, 23, or 24, choose this one. But if you live in an interior climate such as Zone 21 away from the coast in the interior with a hotter climate in summer, then I think that crape myrtle is a better choice since crape myrtle loves heat.
Crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a slow-growing tree and has a handsome trunk that is most attractive in winter when the branches are bare. The flowers in summer are truly spectacular especially when the tree is protected from wind. Along the coast it gets mildew unless grown on the east side of a wall or house. It can be kept smaller by growing in a large (ten foot square and larger) raised bed. Be sure to choose the color when the tree is in bloom to make sure you like it since some colors are extraordinarily strong such as a vivid purple that does not appeal to some people. But crape myrtles also come in gorgeous shades of pink, lavender, and even orange. The colors are better than white since in white, this tree is not as lovely as the white Chinese fringe tree. The gray or brown bark that peels off to pink, also gives one a really beautiful look in winter. Prune in winter to shape. (Refer to a pruning manual, or look in Sunset Western Garden Book. Detailed instructions for pruning this tree are on page 430 of the 2007 edition.)