Looking for the "perfect" small tree or shrub?
In the event your landscape does not already have a crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) or crape myrtles (you can't just have only one), then put this variety on your "buy" list today.
The choices you have are almost endless, although you may want to start your selection search with the National Arboretum website.
Assuming you have never focused on this fantastic tree/shrub, or have seen one and never taken time to explore it thoroughly, it is deciduous, loves sun, loves heat, loves water, has multiple color choices, and is e-a-s-y to grow.
Colors, in general, are: white, pink, red, lavender, and purple. They flower on the current year's growth and the flowers are frilled like crepe paper (hence the name). Crape myrtles are often referred to as the "Lilac of the South". They are generally hardy to USDA Zone 5.
Depending on the variety, the number of flowering days, on average, can be from 70 to 120 days; flowers can begin to appear in early June. Many are prized for a distinctive bark color, as well as their spectacular fall leaf color of orange gold to scarlet.
Give this one a try! (Pictured is Lagerstroemia indica, fauriei "Natchez"). Natchez (white) can grow to over 20-feet high, is very hardy, has high mildew resistance, had red orange fall color, and flowers approximately 110 days. PH is 5.0 to 6.5. A general fertilizer will promote growth, although the many crape myrtles seen blooming along our highways and byways receive little or none.
[Sources: Betty's Azalea Ranch, Plants of Colonial Williamsburg(The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation)]
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