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Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia
Also called crepe myrtle
Crape Myrtle blooms from July through September.
Mature size, hardiness zones, sun and the trait tags were checked against named botanical sources for this plant. The bloom months and water need on this page were not.
Growing Crape Myrtle
Plant it in full sun. It prefers low water. It is hardy in USDA zones 6–10. Expect it to reach about 13 ft tall and 9.8 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years.
When to plant Crape Myrtle
Plant Crape Myrtle in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. For the middle of its hardy zones 6 to 10 range, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from July to September.
Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar: for the middle of its range, start with zone 8 in February.
Comes in 13 varieties across 4 colors
Same plant, same care - pick the color you are growing.
Good to know about Crape Myrtle
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note.
Worth knowing
A quiet surprise: the flowers make no nectar at all. Bees are rewarded with pollen, including a showy yellow 'feeding' pollen grown just to feed insects. per Florida Entomologist
When to prune
Guidance splits: a light dormant cut in late winter to early spring, or finish pruning by late summer. Either works, since it blooms on new wood. per Clemson and NC State
Size depends on cultivar
Size is all about cultivar: dwarfs stay under 1 m, semi-dwarfs about 3 m, and tree types reach 7.5 to 9 m. Match it to your space. per NC State
Never top it
Topping it to bare stubs each year, nicknamed 'crape murder', disfigures the plant and is never needed: it blooms plentifully unpruned. Thin lightly instead. per Clemson and NC State
Sculptural peeling bark
Its smooth, thin bark peels away to a mottled, sinewy trunk, so it earns a place for winter structure long after the leaves drop. per NC State
Watch for bark scale
White felt on the bark that smears pink when crushed is crapemyrtle bark scale. Its honeydew feeds black sooty mold, so treat the insect, not the mold. per Clemson
What pairs well with Crape Myrtle
Good companions share its growing conditions and add something it lacks: an earlier or later bloom, a lower carpet in front, or structure through winter.
False Indigo
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in late spring, before this one opens; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; lower at 3.3 ft, for the front of the border.
Maiden Grass
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; lower at 5.9 ft, for the front of the border.
Blue Oat Grass
Shares full sun and low water; opens in early summer and overlaps into this one's season; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 2.3 ft, for the front of the border.
Goldenrod
Shares full sun and low water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds; lower at 3 ft, for the front of the border.
Blue Fescue
Shares full sun and low water; opens in early summer and overlaps into this one's season; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Bergenia
Takes full sun to part sun and low to moderate water; blooms in mid spring, before this one opens; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; echoes the pink.
Lavender
Shares full sun and low water; opens in early summer and overlaps into this one's season; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; low at 2 ft, to carpet the ground beneath.
Rosemary
Shares full sun and low water; blooms in early spring, before this one opens; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter; lower at 3.3 ft, for the front of the border.
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