My crape myrtle tree has two different flower colors, some flowers are pink and some are pure white. Why?
Growing crapemyrtles in nurseries typically involves placing several small plants in one pot in order to create a “multi-stem” crapemyrtle. It is not uncommon for growers to mix up their crapemyrtle plants; when they are not flowering, many of them look alike. I suspect this happened to some of the plants purchased by this home owner. The pink-flowering form may have been slower growing than the white-flowering form, so it took longer (or more fertilizer) for this form to start flowering. Another possibility is that crapemyrtle seeds sprouted at the base of the white-flowering plants. Crapemyrtles don’t come “true” from seed, so it is very likely the young plants would be pink. Again, it probably took a few years to get large enough to flower. The home owner should be able to follow each pink-flowering branch back to a main trunk (or trunks, if more than one). If they wish, they can out the pink-flowering form (but they will re-sprout, and so will need to continue to do this for years)
