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Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia
Also called crepe myrtle
Crape Myrtle blooms from July through September.
Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.
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 10 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 5 years (not yet checked).
No toxicity note is on file for Crape Myrtle. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.
What was checked
Mature height and spread, 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, and each fact above says which. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.
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. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 6 to 10, 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; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.
How big does Crape Myrtle get?
13 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult10 ftwideSee Crape Myrtle in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.
How far apart to plant Crape Myrtle
Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.
Give Crape Myrtle about 10 ft of clear ground in every direction, measured from its center. It is one plant with room around it, not a row, and a raised bed is too small for it.
Add Crape Myrtle to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.
Where these facts come from
Crape Myrtle's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags were checked against 15 published sources on July 29, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.
- edis.ifas.ufl.eduUniversity of Florida IFAS Extension, EDIS ST-342 (Lagerstroemia indica)height, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenLagerstroemia indicaheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Missouri Botanical GardenLagerstroemia faurieiheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionLagerstroemia, genus pageheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionLagerstroemia indicaheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionLagerstroemia subcostata var. faurieiheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- NC State ExtensionLagerstroemia limiiheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun and trait tags
- Clemson Home and Garden Information CenterCrape Myrtle, Lagerstroemia speciesheight, spread, sun and trait tags
- Fine GardeningLagerstroemia indicaheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- NC State ExtensionLagerstroemia speciosaheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- Plants For A FutureLagerstroemia indicaheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- Proven WinnersINFINITINI MAGENTA crapemyrtle, Lagerstroemia indicaheight, spread, hardiness zones and sun
- Oregon State UniversityLagerstroemia indicaheight, hardiness zones and sun
- University of Florida IFASCrapemyrtle, genusheight, sun and trait tags
- aces.eduAlabama Cooperative Extension System, Auburn University (crape myrtle...sun
How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.
Comes in 13 varieties across 4 colors
Same genus, similar care - pick the color you are growing.
- Acoma
- Black Diamond Red Hot
- Catawba
- Cherry Dazzle
- Dynamite
- Hopi
- Muskogee
- Natchez
- Pink Velour
- Red Rocket
- Sioux
- Tuscarora
- Twilight
Compare every variety in the Crape Myrtle group
Every figure is the variety's own page fact. Tap a name to open it.
| Variety | Color | Blooms | Hardiness | Sun | Size (H × W) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acoma | White | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 8 ft × 10 ft |
| Black Diamond Red Hot | Red | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–9 | Full sun | 11 ft × 10 ft |
| Catawba | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 11 ft × 10 ft |
| Cherry Dazzle | Red | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 4 ft × 4 ft |
| Crapethis page | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 6–10 | Full sun | 13 ft × 10 ft |
| Dynamite | Red | Jul–Sep | Zones 6–10 | Full sun | 16 ft × 13 ft |
| Hopi | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 6–9 | Full sun | 10 ft × 10 ft |
| Muskogee | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 23 ft × 16 ft |
| Natchez | White | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 23 ft × 20 ft |
| Pink Velour | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 6–10 | Full sun | 13 ft × 10 ft |
| Red Rocket | Red | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 20 ft × 16 ft |
| Sioux | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 13 ft × 10 ft |
| Tuscarora | Pink | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 16 ft × 13 ft |
| Twilight | Purple | Jul–Sep | Zones 7–10 | Full sun | 20 ft × 13 ft |
Good to know about Crape Myrtle
Curated from university extensions, botanic gardens and other primary sources, with the source named on every note. A note reports what its source says; where that differs from a fact above, the fact above is this entry's stored value, and its mark says whether it has been checked.
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 3.5 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 6 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 2.5 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.
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 3.5 ft, for the front of the border.
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.
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Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.