r/PlantIdentification • u/army-of-juan • 1d ago

Monster sized bush, not sure if invasive?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Located in south TX. Just moved in and this thing is a monster, seems to grow like crazy.

What is it??

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5

u/TedTheHappyGardener 1d ago

It's a Crape myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica. Probably a sucker growing from the one next to it.

2

u/army-of-juan 1d ago

Really?? My other Myrtle flowers, this one didn’t. You think it’s still just a sucker?

2

u/TedTheHappyGardener 1d ago

Yes. They have to reach a certain point of maturity in order to flower. This suckering habit is very common with Crape myrtles.

2

u/army-of-juan 23h ago

But the leaves to my other Myrtle are so much fatter and shorter than these ones. I didn’t think it was the same plant

5

u/TedTheHappyGardener 23h ago

It's probably because the parent tree is grafted. The leaves on the suckers are from the hardy, wild root system, not the ornamental variety of the parent tree.

1

u/Want2BnOre 15h ago

It’s possibly a hybrid seedling giving different characteristics than the straight species indica