It rains under my Crepe Myrtle

 I have a crepe myrtle tree, not one of the shorter varieties, and not a
shrub, but a tree.  Water drips from it constantly, as though it is raining.
Recently my daughter moved into an older home with a  HUGE very old crepe
myrtle tree in the yard, and it rains under that one all the time too.  It
is not honey dew from aphids.  It's water, like rain.  What is this
phenomenon?  Thanks!

 At what time of day does this occur?


raining.

 All day long and into the evening.  Seems like the hotter the weather the
more the crepe myrtle rains..  There are no visible pests on the branches or
leaves that we can see and reach, but mine is close to 20 feet tall, and the
old one at my daughters is much taller.  The landlord there says it is
nearly as old as the house, and the house  was built in 1950.

When I was a little girl there were two crepe myrtles  in the corner of the
yard where we played most.  They shaded our sand box and swing set.  One of
them is still standing.  We moved into that house in 1961 and the trees were
mature then, so I guess the one still there could be 50 years or older.  But
I don't remember that they ever rained on us.

 Oh well. So much for my theory involving transpiration. :-(

 Pam Gibbs wrote:


We've got a winged sumac where this happens, too...turns out that it's
some small beetles that sit atop the leaves, suck moisture out of
the leaves and squirt excrement all day long.  It's really weird and
a touch unsettling.

---Prem