[ID] this tree please

[badabing888]

Can someone please ID this tree against the wall?

Sorry no leaves!

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[MikeK]

hard to tell without leaves, flowers, etc. but from what looks like flower/seed pods on the ends of the branches I'd guess a Crepe Myrtle of some sort

[shibui]

seed pods look right for crepe myrtle. Bark looks right for crepe myrtle but not sure about the branching pattern so I'm around 50/50 for crepe myrtle so far.
I don't suppose there's any chance of a closer look at both bark and those seed pods?

[TimS]

+1 on crepe myrtle, some of the newer varieties have a growth habit like that more upright than spreading

[badabing888]

Hi All,

Thanks for the reply i'm pritty sure its a myrtle after going back and looking further.

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Can these be kept a reasonable size in ground?

[shibui]

I think the seed pods and bark confirm this is crepe myrtle.

They can be pruned hard and will still shoot from whatever stumps are left. Traditionally, as landscape trees in gardens and parks, these have been chopped hard every year and they flush out with new shoots for the following season so it is absolutely possible to whatever size you want, even in the ground. This method is less common now and some refer to hard pruning as 'crepe murder'.

Crepe.JPG

After many years of hard pruning the trees can end up with unattractive knobbly ends to the trunks so the wonderful character of crepe branching is lost. Some may begin to lose vigour and produce fewer new shoots and therefore less flowers but that usually takes many years of really hard pruning.

There are many newer 'dwarf' forms of crepe myrtle available now that don't require as much pruning to maintain a smaller shrub.

Be aware that many varieties sucker. No problem in the lawn where the suckers are mowed regularly but in a garden bed you will need to remove suckers regularly or end up with a forest of crepe myrtles.