How to Identify Very Young Crepe Myrtle

Identifying young crepe myrtle

• 1

  Examine the tree's bark. Strips of the tree's tan bark peel away in spring and summer, leaving exposed deeper layers of bark that can range from tan or brown to orange. The bark will all fade to tan again during the winter.

• 2

  Look at some of the leaves. A typical leaf shape is rounded or spoon-shaped and up to 3 inches in length, though most hybrid cultivars feature lance-shaped leaves up to 5 inches. The most common feature of leaves is a red tinge that fades to green through the summer. Leaves may turn yellow, orange and red in the autumn.

• 3

  Find the tree/shrub's flowers. Crepe myrtle flowers grow in clusters of hundreds of flowers, between 6 and 18 inches long, and the crépe-like crinkled petals are what gives this plant its name.

• 4

  Look at the main stems of the plant. If the crepe myrtle is very young, it will not yet have been pruned and you will see many stems with little or no evidence of stems or branches having been cut off.