Definately do cut out at the base, all trunks in your CM that are blooming pink. Then be certain to pinch off any new growth that the roots of those cut off branches try to keep growing. If you keep the new growth pinched off then only those roots should suffer,and the white blooming branches should begin to experience an advantage, which helps them to prosper more. Unless it is just the lighting cast on the day you took that photo of the pink blooms, the pink blooming trunks might be a Biloxi Crape Myrtle. Those bubblegum pink blooms, in my opinion are a much nicer sight than some of the more pale easily washed out pinks that some CMs produce. Anyway I only tell you this to let your know that if you do like that particular pink color and would like to have a CM growing someplace else with that color, Than simply order or find at some local nursery a Biloxi Crape Myrtle that is already blooming and that you can confirm it really is a Biloxi Crape Myrtle.

I think any kind of anomaly that happens during the early stages of bud formation may cause this. It could be a genetic mutation, the weather conditions, some kind of insect infestation or a result of a chemical spray at the time when the buds are just beginning to form on the new growth. They're probably not even visible as buds yet. Sometimes the bloom will open and be perfectly normal but sideways. Other times the bud will produce a malformed bloom. I usually let them bloom to see what they look like out of curiosity. If you have a lot of them think back and see if you can figure out what was going on between 4 and 6 weeks ago that may have caused it.

Thanks for the compliments and, um, "sympathy" (smile). It's good to hear other GW friends admit to being crazy, Katie, and I happen to think it's a good kind of crazy. I mean, truly insane gardeners like us don't need to come inside when it starts raining either (like today). I'm glad (and surprised) that daffodils do well in the desert, though come to think of it a lot of bulbs evolved in high deserts in Turkey and such. You might try the low botanical tulips that are the size and timing of crocus, as they like it dry. You're right, Sharon, by this point I can just dig and replace the bulbs by now to plant the rest of the roses, but for me it doesn't really help fall planting. I just dig where I know not enough bulbs will survive, and again in the fall, if I dig up a bulb to plant another one I just replace it and move on. Carol, it sounds like we have a new convert to bulbs and roses, and Canada should be a good place to mingle those, as JJPeace can testify. Cadiarose, I do appreciate the work of keeping up with both obsessions, and I agree that if I had to choose I'd pick the roses. However, self-sustaining bulbs like crocus or daffodils don't really take any work once planted, and they can be at the back of the bed so you can forget about them once the roses start. Just a thought to maintain the insanity a little longer (smile).\ Cynthia

Here is mine last Spring. It is about 15 years old, and obviously we have not pruned it (except so that we can still walk around it) for several years. I plan to take it down by about 50% in a few days - it really has gotten TOO BIG! IT is 9-10 feet tall right now. My DH built it a support out of plumbing pipes, which is hiding under the rose - you can see a bit of it peeking out of the bottom. We are in North SF Bay Area in CA - it certainly likes it here! Jackie