You’ll find an abundance of ornamental crape myrtle trees exploding with color and charm in various summer landscapes. With over 50 species, this plant offers a variety of colors, and characteristics. Here’s our crape myrtle guide, outlining what they are and where they came from, helpful ways to use them, and how best to care for them.
What is a crape myrtle?
Crape myrtle, also known as Lagerstroemia indica, are commonly found in warm, tropical and subtropical regions. They play an important role in providing food for insects in the forests where they grow. One species is used in India to feed the moths that produce Tussah silk.
With their striking presence and showy blossoms, they’ve become an elegant symbol of summer in the South. Crape myrtle is a deciduous and evergreen plant, available in dwarf and semi-dwarf shrubs or as small and large trees. Their mottled, multiple, trunks reveal a smooth and exfoliating bark.
While crape myrtles tend to be fairly low-maintenance plants, they do have certain growth requirements and require proper care, such as yearly pruning (see Lawn Love’s How to Prune a Crape Myrtle), to maintain their awe-inspiring appearance.
They’re hard to ignore, whether a tall flowering tree or planted in a container as an accent piece. Varieties of crape myrtle come in various sizes and colors, like dark pink, deep red, lilac, and white.
Miniature or very dwarf cultivars, reaching 1 to 3 feet at maturity, make excellent groundcover or small bushes in mulched garden beds. Examples of these include Baton Rouge, Bourbon Street, Rosy Carpet, Sacramento, and Velma’s Royal Delight, to name a few.
Dwarfs, reaching 3 to 6 feet at maturity, feature miniature, compact, and upright growth habits. These are great to plant along a driveway or sidewalk as ornamental additions to small spaces. Examples of these include Chickasaw, McFadden’s Pinkie Myrtlette, Okmulgee, Petite Embers, and Tightwad Red, to name a few.
Semi-dwarfs, reaching 5 to 12 feet at maturity, feature low spreading, broad and upright growth habits. These do well planted on their own or as a background to your garden beds. Examples of these include Acoma Semi-Dwarf, Centennial Spirit, Firebird, Hopi, and Tonto, to name a few.
Small trees, reaching 10 to 20 feet at maturity, feature upright, broad crown, open arching, open spreading, and pendulous globose growth habits. Examples of these include Byer’s White, Catawba, Commanche, Conestoga, Near East, and Osage, to name a few.
Large trees, reaching 20-plus feet at maturity, feature upright, broad tall tree, upright vase, broad upright, and broad vase growth habits. Examples of these include Arapaho, Basham’s Party Pink, Dynamite, Muskogee, and Natchez, to name a few.
Landscaping trends
Color and texture are key to a great landscape, and any crape myrtle variety will supply just that. These summer-flowering plants are so impressive, they’ll have you in the running for best yard on the block.
Here are some popular ways to use them:
As screens
Taller varieties of crape myrtle are ideal for providing privacy, slowing strong winds, and protecting more delicate plants. Trim the plants back each winter to maintain a dense screen. This helps them to develop many stems and keep that dark green color to the base.
As shrub borders
Dwarf and semi-dwarfs do well as additions to your spring flowering shrubs. Plant them behind smaller shrubs, and when everything else starts to bloom in the early spring, crape myrtles provide a beautiful green backdrop. When summer rolls around, they add even more excitement. Your other plants can also benefit from their shade in the summer.
In containers
Using a container is ideal for those with limited space for planting grand landscapes. Keep dwarf shrubs small and bushy, or keep pruning them back so that they can grow tall and proud. However, make sure to place them in a location where they will get enough sunlight. They are drought-resistant but require a great deal of full sun.
As lawn focal points
Crape myrtle, as a focal point, creates a colorful centerpiece to a lawn throughout summer. The size is relatively easy to control with just a little pruning. Make sure not to plant them too close to buildings so that they can develop properly.
As foreground trees
In sunny areas, in front of full-sized shade trees, crape myrtles can create beautiful focal points. Here, they will require little to no pruning or other care, making this a low-maintenance option for incorporating color into your landscape.
As background plants
By mixing crape myrtles with other small, flowering shrubs, you can create an exquisite picture without the constant replanting of annual flowers. Make sure to prune the plants in front low enough to prevent them from blocking plants behind them.
Popular cultivars
Natchez
Introduced in 1987 by the U.S. National Arboretum, Natchez is recognized as a top performing crape myrtle in the Southeastern United States. It will reach up to 30 feet in height at maturity and produce large white flowers.
Muskogee
Introduced in 1978, Muskogee possesses a desirable tan-to-medium brown bark with lilac flowers in the summer, and at maturity will reach 20 to 30 feet. It resists both leaf spot and powdery mildew, and the leaves morph from dark green to red orange in the fall.
Tuscarora
Bred in 1967 and later introduced in 1978, Tuscarora flowers turn from deep red in the spring to coral pink in the summer and can reach an incredible 25 feet at maturity. This variety is less susceptible to leaf spot and powdery mildew than most others and the leaves morph from dark green to red orange in the fall.
Tonto
Introduced around 1990 by the U.S. National Arboretum, Tonto is an award-winning crape with rich pink flowers. At maturity, it reaches 12 to 14 feet. It is resistant to leaf spot and powdery mildew and retains its foliage into the fall months, when the leaves turn maroon. In the winter, the bark turns a creamy beige.
Acoma
Introduced by the U.S. National Arboretum in 1986, Acoma is among the first mildew-resistant crape myrtles. At maturity, it can reach 10 to 14 feet in height, it produces white flowers, and its limbs arch up, then weep or cascade gently downward. Leaf spot has been observed in this cultivar.
Sioux
Sioux is a U.S. National Arboretum crape myrtle introduced in the 1950s and named Florida plant of the year in 1998. It can reach up to 15 feet at maturity, grows bright pink flowers, and its foliage will turn a handsome purple in the fall. In trials, Sioux showed good resistance to mildew and leaf spot.
Catawba
Introduced in 1967, Catawba is one of the first hybrids of crape myrtle to grace North American landscapes. It can reach 15 feet in height and maintains rich purple flowers all summer long. In the fall, the foliage turns a red-orange color. This variety makes an excellent screen or hedge.
Growing conditions
Sunshine
The amount and length of time a crape myrtle flowers is directly related to the amount of sun it receives, so planting in a sunny area is a must. Do not plant them under shade trees, as any light that penetrates will be of poor quality. If planting north of a building, shade will occur during the winter months, which won’t affect its summer blooms. The plants will still be able to thrive with sunlight coming from the open sky above.
Soil
Crape myrtles grow well in almost any soil but do best in loam, silt, or clay soils. In fact, too rich of soil, and too much compost or fertilizer, will help create healthy leaves but produce fewer flowers. They grow best in slightly acidic soils, and not well in alkaline soils.
Pro tip: If your crape myrtle is producing pale yellow leaves, and you know that you have alkaline soil, treat your plant with chelated iron.
Climate
Although they grow best in zones 7, 8, and 9 – essentially from Virginia to Oklahoma, everywhere south, and up the west coast – modern varieties grow in zones 5 and 6 as well. Well, the warmer parts of 5 and 6 anyway.
These plants love the sun – they live for it! It is especially important, when planting in colder areas, to ensure that crape myrtles get full sun all day to create a good microclimate for optimal growth.
In colder areas, crapes can be just as prolific flowering but will stay smaller than they would in a warmer climate. Flowers will bloom late summer through fall.
Examples of cultivars produced for colder climates include the dynamite crape myrtle, which can grow up to 20 feet in warm regions but six feet in colder regions. The pink velour crape myrtle can grow up to 10 feet in warm regions but five to six feet in colder regions.
Pests and diseases
Powdery mildew
Although modern varieties are resistant to powdery mildew, it can still pose a threat and should be carefully monitored to prevent an infestation.
If you should come across powdery mildew on your crape myrtle leaves, make a 10% solution of milk spray (one part whole milk, nine parts water) and spray directly onto the foliage. Re-apply after rain.
Leaf spot fungus
During warm and wet seasons, you’re likely to find leaf spot on your plants, which can be detrimental to their beauty. As the leaf spot spreads, leaves will begin to fall, and your bushy crape myrtle will become dull and produce fewer flowers. In order to control this disease, you must use a chemical spray containing thiophanate-methyl which can be found at your local garden center.
National Arboretum varieties like Tuscarora and Catawba have shown resistance to this disease and may be a more suitable choice for areas in the deep South.
Japanese beetle
The Japanese beetle is large, with a green head and a light brown back. They tend to cluster together, slowly eating the leaves of your plants and leaving you with something resembling lace. The beetles release a chemical scent that attracts other beetles, so it is important to nip any infestation in the bud.
Watch for the first beetles to arrive, then shake the branches over a bucket of soapy water to kill them.
Crape myrtle aphids
During spring and summer, you may find a cluster of these tiny, green insects under the leaves of your plants. They suck the sap and may cause yellow spots on the upper sides of the leaves. You may not even notice them until a black powder, called sooty mold, forms on the lower leaves. Although harmless, this black powder is unsightly and controlling the aphids will control the mold.
Ladybirds and lacewings, which are natural insect predators, can usually keep the aphids from spreading. To remove aphids, squirt a strong jet of water into the foliage of your plants. If that doesn’t work, you can spray with an insecticidal soap, which can be found at your local garden center.
History
Although Europeans first saw the crape myrtle in India, it originated in China and Korea. The Europeans assumed that the plant was native to India at the time of their discovery, which is why it earned the botanical name Lagerstroemia Indica. Indica erroneously indicates that it originated in the Indian subcontinent.
Crape myrtles were introduced to the U.S. by a French botanist, Andre Michaux, between 1787 and 1796. He ran a 111-acre garden commissioned by King Louis XVI outside of Charleston in Goose Creek, South Carolina. The French forests had been overharvested to provide masts for warships, and Michaux was on assignment to research the American hardwood forests in order to find suitable species to replenish their forests back home.
During this assignment, Michaux would catalog new species found in the U.S. and send specimens to leading botanists throughout the world. These botanists would, in return, send Michaux specimens from their studies around the world, which is how the first crape myrtle was introduced to the U.S.
Although there aren’t any species of crape myrtle native to North America, it has been planted in large numbers throughout the South.
The U.S. National Arboretum in Washington D.C. was established in 1927 by the United States Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
In 1962, Dr. Donald Egolf began to breed new crape myrtle varieties. This is done by taking the pollen from one plant and using it to fertilize flowers of another plant. The resulting seeds are then examined and tested once flowering. Out of thousands, only a few are then propagated and sent to growers across the country to be evaluated under various climate and soil conditions.
Egolf crossed Lagerstroemia Indica with Lagerstroemia fauriei, the Japanese crape myrtle, which is known for its hardiness. The idea was to create hybrid cultivars with improved cold-hardiness, powdery mildew resistance, and to develop fall color flowers. Twenty four new crape myrtle varieties were introduced thanks to Egolf’s efforts.
Fun fact: All National Arboretum crape myrtles are named after Native American tribes.
FAQ
A: Crape myrtles shed their old bark, exposing the beautiful beige, orange, and cinnamon colors of new bark underneath. This is just another unique quality that the crape myrtle possesses.
A: This is a harmless fungus called sooty mold and usually indicates the presence of aphids. You can manage them by spraying with a garden hose or, in more extreme cases, spraying with horticultural soap.
A: Crape myrtles don’t require a lot to produce flowers, but a minimum of six hours of sunlight is a must. Additionally, the uppermost root should be planted evenly with the ground-level, or one to two inches above. When planted too deeply, the roots don’t receive enough oxygen.
The stunning crape myrtle is more than worth a try. But if you happen to get stuck, don’t hesitate to reach out to one of Lawn Love’s lawn care professionals, and you’ll be basking under an explosion of crape myrtle flowers in no time.
Main photo credit: Wikimedia
