Garden columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions each week. To send a question, email Gill at gnogardening@agcenter.lsu.edu. My husband wants to plant crape myrtle trees on the side of the house.

Crepe myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, vary in size from dwarf shrubs to multi-trunked and single-trunk trees growing to 30 feet tall. Most varieties produce beautiful blooms starting in spring or ...