The crape myrtle wins the flowering tree longest bloom award with 100 to 120 days of nonstop flowers each year. No other common yard tree comes close to that number. You'll see fresh flower clusters from early June all the way through late September in most growing zones.
I started tracking bloom dates in my garden journal three years ago. The results made the gap between trees impossible to ignore. My cherry trees gave me two great weeks in April and then went green. The dogwood lasted about three to four weeks before dropping its petals. But the longest blooming flowering tree in my yard was the crape myrtle by my driveway. It was still going strong when I carved pumpkins in October.
When I tested deadheading the spent flower clusters, the results blew me away. The tree pushed out a fresh round of blooms within two weeks of me cutting the old ones off. I got three full flushes of color in one season just by spending ten minutes with pruning shears after each wave of flowers faded.
Crape myrtle pulls off this long show through a process called indeterminate blooming. Spring trees like cherry and dogwood set their buds the previous fall. They open them all at once and then they're done. Crape myrtle works the opposite way. It grows flowers on new wood during the current season. This means it keeps making fresh buds as long as warm weather and sun keep going.
Several other trees that bloom all summer deserve your attention if you can't grow crape myrtle. Rose of Sharon flowers for 8 to 10 weeks from midsummer into early fall. The chaste tree blooms for 6 to 8 weeks with spiky purple flower clusters. Kousa dogwood holds its flowers for 4 to 6 weeks, much longer than the native species. Each of these gives you more color than any spring-only tree can offer.
You can stretch your total bloom season to seven months or more by planting a smart sequence of trees. Start with a star magnolia that opens in March. Add a redbud for April color and a Kousa dogwood for May through June. Then let your crape myrtle carry the show from June all the way to October. Each tree hands off to the next so your yard never goes without flowers.
Your variety choice matters too when you want maximum bloom time from your crape myrtle. The 'Natchez' variety is famous for its long bloom period and white flowers. 'Tuscarora' gives you coral-pink blooms that hold strong well into fall. Dwarf types like 'Pocomoke' bloom just as long but stay under 5 feet tall, so you can fit them into small beds and borders where a full-size tree won't work.
Watering plays a big role in how long your blooms last too. Give your crape myrtle 1 inch of water per week during the hottest months. Trees that dry out will stop blooming early and drop their flowers before fall arrives. A simple soaker hose around the base keeps the roots moist without wetting the leaves, which helps you avoid powdery mildew problems.
For the single longest show from one tree, put your crape myrtle in full sun with good air flow. Feed it once in spring with a balanced mix and cut spent flower heads after the first flush fades. These two steps can push your bloom window past 120 days and give you the most color from a single tree in your whole yard.
Read the full article: Best Flowering Trees for Your Yard
