suggestion: Spell it correctly, it's crApe myrtle, not crepe myrtle.

Five hours is less than is usually recommended for crape myrtles but I'm not sure that is the problem with yours. Is there any sign of pests (aphids, etc) or disease (spots, etc) besides the leaf color? Have you had your soil tested? Are your crape myrtles mulched well/properly?

Pine woods may indicate poor or acid soil. Or not...

I'd go for soil testing before looking for pests; there may well BE pests, but they are probably not the primary problem.

Are these planted in amended soil? Was lime added -and if so, have there been signs of chlorosis? (You might want to google that, leaf veins would show clearly different color and there's overall lack of vigor).

I've had decent luck with crapes in 5 hours - or less - of sunlight, so I don't think that's the problem, either.

Brandon7

I am sorry to correct YOU but the original poster IS correct!!! It is CrEpe Myrtle. I do not want to start a long discussion on this but the name comes from the similarity of the petals to crepe material/paper.

Anyway such a beautiful tree does not deserve to be crApe myrtle. If you need to be precise use the scientific name instead!

In terms of the problem 5 hours is a minimum amount of sunlight for a crepe myrtle. Insufficient available nutrients (as is often the case in pine country) together with the level of sunlight would explain the situation with these trees.

regards

Dennis Mc

Dennis,

There is a "Crape Myrtle Society of America" but there is no such thing as a "Crepe Myrtle Society of America"

"crape myrtle" gets 163,000 Google hits, "crepe myrtle" only gets 143,000 Google hits

"Crape myrtle is the overwhelming choice both in botanical sources and in other dictionary sources." - Michael Agnes, executive editor of Webster's New World Dictionary

"The first reference to crape...came in 1685. Crepe first showed up in 1797." - Agnes

"The common name of this plant is crape myrtle not crepe myrtle." - Floridata

The National Arboretum, as well as almost all arboretums, uses "crape myrtle" not "crepe myrtle". See link below.

No need to apologize, it's a common mistake. Of course, I guess it's not like "crepe myrtle" is totally incorrect, just not the preferred or accepted version. I see no need to perpetuate a non-standard name. Common names cause enough confusion without us adding to that confusion with non-standard versions.

Here is a link that might be useful: United States National Arboretum