Diedre, If your Crepe Myrtle tree has leaves already, it may not be a Crepe Myrtle. All of the ones in my neighborhood here in Raleigh are still completely bare. The flowers on Crepe Myrtles do not usually appear until really hot weather (in late July, I think). As for your holly trees, they should bloom later this spring at which time the flowers should be identifiable as either male or female. I checked the listing of hollies currently planted at the J C Raulston Arboretum here in Raleigh and there are over 150 varieties. However, since there usually only a few varieties that the majority of the local nurseries carry, you may be able to get help from one of your local garden centers, county extension agent or local Master Gardener.

Here is a link that might be useful: Link to County Extension Offices in NC

Sorry, I should have been a little clearer. Last year, the Crepe Myrtle only had leaves on it, and perhaps a tiny flower or two, but not what I was expecting having seen many of these lovely trees blooming on the side of the road. As of right now, it doesn't have any leaves on it. Sorry for the confusion.

In terms of the hollies they didn't berry or flower or anything last year either, that's why I was thinking I had all male or all female shrubs. I think your suggestion about the Extension office is probably my best bet. Thank you.

well, crepe myrtles don't bloom really well in shade. i have one in part shade and it blooms much less than one that gets a couple more hours of sun, which in turn blooms less than those that get full day sun.

you could cut a small branch off your hollies when they flower ad take them into the local coop extension office and they may be able to point out the difference between the ale & female flowers. i haven't tried to tell myself with hollies, but with most dioceous plants, it's not too hard when you know what you're looking for, and it's normally noticeable at close range . if you search, you may be able to find macro shots online to illustrate it.

As well, the holly may not be holly, but may be osmanthus. I don't remember if they flower or not, but the leaves are very similar to a holly, and confuse me frequently. Osmanthus don't produce any berries.

If the crepe myrtle is in fulll sun, it should have flowered. If you had lots of Japanese beetles, or even just some, which concentrated on that plant, just beforehand, they might have eaten the buds - they did this to my white CM last summer, and I got maybe a dozen little flowers, instead of the big trusses I was looking forward to. They mostly left my other CM's alone, but the early white ones ..... If it was fed with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, or if it's surrounded by lawn which was so fed, then it may have been pushed for leaves and no blooms. Try feeding it, once it leafs out, with a fertlizer for blooming plants, with a low N number - it might make enough difference.

Thank you so much for your great responses. Now, how do I convince my DH to move a 12 ft CM to a sunnier location???? I guess I'll try the low N fertilizer first and see how that goes.

In terms of the hollies, I looked up Osmanthus, and I know my shrubs are not them. I am pretty confident they're hollies, maybe even blue prince or princess hollies. If they are supposed to flower, at what point in the year do they do that? I don't remember seeing any flowers on them, but if I know when they might bloom, I'll keep a better eye out for them so I can bring the branch in to be examined at the extension office.

If the hollies have any tiny flowers down close to the stem and bloom during the cold months of the year they are Osmanthus (and there are thousands of different kinds many of which look exactly like hollies). If they bloom when it is warmer then they are true hollies. No berries = all males (most people want berries but some don't, so it isn't unusuall to see all males planted up close to a house). Osmanthus are very fragrant, you would notice them in bloom from the fragrance. Hollies attract a lot of bees when in bloom, you would notice the bees.

They are easy to move (other than the physical part) CM are nearly in destructible. They were one of the major landscape plants when we lived in Dallas. No water and 45 consecutive days @100+ temp and they all bloomed like mad. We had one that the foundation crew augered a 10" hole right through the middle of the root ball. And it came back with flying colors. I say dig it up and move it to a more sunny location, you'll be happy you spent the effort. Plus that just means you won't have to use those precious garden dollars buying one. Remember though any roots left in the ground will likely sprout. So you can dig those up once they sprout and probably end up with 5-6 crepe myrtles.

Thank you again. Okay, so I'm pretty convinced that I want to move my CM and I'm really excited about the prospect of the sprouts!! I'd move it just for that reason, even if it wasn't having problems LOL.

In terms of my shrubs, the more I look at pictures of Holly and Osmanthus, the more I know I have no idea what I have. In your opinions, which shrub is more common? Osmanthus or let's call it a Blue Prince for now, holly? Which would have been cheaper? The reason I ask, is that I think when I look around my landscape, I know that the previous owners would have gone with the most commonly available shrub and since it was a new house and they would have needed quite a few plants, they probably would have purchased the cheaper shrub. I don't know a lot about Osmanthus, but I know I see the blue prince holly in Lowes and Home Depot every time I go, that's why I keep leaning to them. Lastly, I don't believe I've ever smelled any type of fragrance from the shrubs. They are right next to my garage door and all along the walkway to my front door, so I think I would have smelled something right???

Just wanted to let you know that my shrubs must be hollies, because they have little buds (flowerish looking) on them as of last weekend and the bees are in and around them in droves.

Thank you everyone for your help. Now if only I knew the exact cultivar . . . At least I'm further along then I was a few weeks ago. Thank you again!!

why is it important to know the cultivar? Maybe I'm missing something. Its growing well in your yard, yeah?

I have two reasons for wanting to know the exact cultivar. The first reason is because I want them to berry. So then I need to buy some female plants so the males will produce berries. I'm assuming that they'd have to be the same cultivar in order to pollinate one another.

Also, I need to move them and I'd like to know how big they'll get and the spacing requirements. Unfortunately when they were planted around the house, the original landscaper placed them in front of a much smaller shrub, so they are now blocking the small boxwoods. I've trimmed them back, but it really would be easier to just move them to a different location in my yard. Then I could mix in some flowering shrubs around my foundation which currently only has evergreen, non-berry bearing, non flowering plants and shrubs.

Same cultivar isn't needed for male/female and berry production, just one that flowers at the same time. But I agree that it would be nice to know how big they want to get, as opposed to the size that clipping can keep them at.

I do NOT understand landscapers who pay NO attention to mature sizes when they plant things - I know instant gratification plays a part, as well as lack of imagination, but still.... Oh well, pet peeve, and you don't need to get the fallout.

I don't blame you. Not only did they plant the shrubs backwards, but they put my crepe myrtle in full shade, my camelia in the sun, etc. etc.

Boy have I got a lot of work to do. Oh well, Rome wasn't built in a day! At least I enjoy gardening!