Crepe Myrtle, Lagerstroemia chekiangensis

[Tenka]

Picked up this from a beautiful, very well maintained Nursery in Shepparton (Vic).

Lagerstroemia chekiangensis, I was told, after the shop managed to dig up a record of the plant.
Is/has been in a 12in pot for some time now and is about 6 years old and 60cm high, different from other Lagerstroemia I've seen in that it has large, fuzzy leaves. Apart from that, there isn't much I know about it.

As you can see, It is in need of it's winter prune which I'm holding off until I have a good opportunity to try to strike the cuttings.
I'd like to turn it into a larger sized bonsai, give it a chance to let more character develop.

If anyone knows of where I could learn more about this species I'd love to hear it.

[Guy]

I don"t see a crepe myrtle there ---looks very much like a guava-and are related - and have very similar trunk and bark-and have no idea how they bonsai--

[Jester]

Hi Tenka, after about 1.5 hours searching, the following was about the only "Useful" info I could find. It's not much but it may help. It is obviously not a well recognised species.

Lagerstroemia chekiangensis


Shrubs or small trees, ca. 4 m tall, much branched. Branchlets
terete, densely gray or yellow-brown pubescent. Petiole 2–5
mm, pubescent; leaf blade elliptic or oblong-elliptic, 4.5–3 ×
2.5–6 cm, leathery, abaxially puberulous on midvein and lateral
veins, lateral veins 10–17 pairs, base attenuate to subrounded,
apex shortly acuminate or acute. Panicles 8–18 cm, open, densely
pubescent. Floral tube (5 or)6-merous, 5–8 mm, 12–14-deeply
ribbed to sharply ridged, densely yellow-brown pubescent to
nearly glabrous at anthesis; sepals deltate, 2–3.5 mm, adaxially
glabrous, caudate, pubescent at apex; annulus subtending sepals
thickened; epicalyx segments conspicuous, typically spreading,
broad, flattened, ca. 1/2 as long as sepals, auriculate. Petals reddish
to pink, ovate to suborbicular, 9–12 mm including claw 4–
6 mm, base obtuse. Stamens ca. 35, dimorphic. Ovary glabrous.
Capsules 8–12 × 5–8 mm, 4- or 5-valved. Seeds including wing
ca. 8 mm

[MattA]

This is much the same info as Jester has provided but includes its natural range, which is mixed forests on low mountains in china http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx? ... =200014645 is a few images online if you do a google search for it but thought I would share this one I found..

[Tenka]

Wow, thanks so much Jester and MattA, I was worried that the internet might fail me on this one. I think I'll put This http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1885623259/zenbulogy-20 on my Christmas wish list, pity I just had a birthday.

I also found a couple of places calling it a "Zhejiang crepe myrtle", but that name is also shared by Lagerstroemia limii.

[MattA]

Wow, thanks so much Jester and MattA, I was worried that the internet might fail me on this one. I think I'll put This http://www.amazon.com/o/ASIN/1885623259/zenbulogy-20 on my Christmas wish list, pity I just had a birthday.

I also found a couple of places calling it a "Zhejiang crepe myrtle", but that name is also shared by Lagerstroemia limii.

This highlights the confusion that can occur when you use a common name instead of the scientific name of a plant. Having said that, there is still lots of work going on in China with species identification, with changes happening regularly as new forms & whole new species are discovered or created as break offs from existing ones. It is entirely possible that one resource will give one name for plants from a variety of locations and a newer resource will have it split into several different distinct species.

It is not confined to China, our own Casuarina have recently been split into 2 seperate genera Casuarina and Allocasuarina as example from among the many that are redefined each year.

Seeing as noone has much information on this species as bonsai or even in general, it is a good candidate to keep your own records on, what you do, when & how it responds. It is thru the dedications of amatuers over the centureis that we know so much of what we do about the world around us.

Matt