"It's the Christmas Miracle!" my father-in-law expounded three years ago at a family Christmas Day lunch. "The Crepe Myrtle is already flowering."

My in-laws live in Perth, about 3 hours drive north from here and the climate there is a little warmer. Hence, they're more likely to see flowers on their crepe myrtle a lot sooner that we do. In fact, ours has only come into flower in the last 2 weeks - 2 months after the in-laws have seen theirs.

It was the first time I'd ever taken notice of the Crepe Myrtle (I actually thought they were saying "Cape" Myrtle). The flowers are where this plant derives it's name though. The little pink tufts actually look like crepe paper.

Crepe Myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) are native to East Asia and can grow in hardy to sub-tropical and Mediterranean regions. If left to develop as a tree these can reach about 8m but many gardeners prune them heavily to keep a shrub shape. They flower prolifically through summer and autumn and shed their leaves towards the end of autumn leaving an undressed trunk over winter.

Winter is the best time to prune them and they seem to come back well after a good pruning. It also helps them keep their vase shape as they continue to grow.

Crepe myrtles are susceptible to powdery mildew and love to send suckers up from their roots. Nip these off before they start to get too established and you'll keep your tree looking really nice.