Pink Velour Crape Myrtle for Sale - Buying & Growing Guide

Planting and Care

by John Haryasz | Horticulture Writer and Landscape Designer – last update on August 4, 2022

Planting instructions

The pink velour crape myrtle is an excellent ornamental plant option for anyone living in hardiness zones 7 through 10. If you live in that region, you can grow your pink velour crape myrtle in full sunlight or partial shade. However, while partial shade may keep this tree alive, full sunlight allows for the greatest health and better blooms. The soil in your tree’s growing location should be slightly acidic and nutrient-rich, and it should have good drainage to prevent waterlogging.

Watering and nutrients

After you plant your pink velour crape myrtle, you should water it once per week or more to ensure the soil remains moist while the tree establishes itself. Once your tree is somewhat mature, you can water it less often. The best way to know if your pink velour crape myrtle needs water is to check the soil moisture. If the first 2 or 3 inches of soil have become dry, it’s time to add water. Fertilize this plant in the early spring and a few more times during mid and late spring with a well-balanced fertilizer mix.

Pollination

The copious blooms that appear on your pink velour crape myrtle will invite many pollinator species to your garden, which makes pollination an easy task. Each of this plant’s flowers holds plenty of nectar, providing a reliable food source for pollinators, which, in turn, helps strengthen local ecosystems. Pink velour crape myrtles can reproduce via self-pollination or cross-pollination. However, since these plants don’t produce a harvest, pollination is not a main concern for those who raise them.

Pruning

Your first priority when pruning a pink velour crape myrtle should be to remove any branch that is dead, diseased, damaged, or crossing another branch. You will also have the opportunity to use your pruning cuts to improve the aesthetics of your tree. The most common way to do this with the pink velour crape myrtle is to remove the lower limbs to reveal the curving shapes that arise from this tree’s multi-stemmed form. Regardless of your pruning goal, you should conduct your pruning in late winter, just before the new growth appears.

Pests, diseases, and animals

Powdery mildew is a common problem for crape myrtles. However, the pink velour crape myrtle is often better able to ward off this common disease. Still, the pink velour crape myrtle can run into some pest and disease issues in its lifetime. Black spot, sooty mold, and tip blight are all possible complications that your tree may face. Likewise, pink velour crape myrtles can also experience infestations of aphids, ambrosia beetles, and Japanese beetles from time to time.

Achieving maximum results

One somewhat common problem with crape myrtles is over-fertilization. When a crape myrtle tree, including the pink velour crape myrtle, receives too much fertilizer, it may respond by producing more leaves and fewer flowers, which can drastically lower this plant’s ornamental value. This is especially the case if you use excessive applications of nitrogen-rich fertilizer. So, while fertilizer is generally beneficial to this plant, you should use some caution and be sure not to add too much each year.

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