SPOTLIGHT ON CRAPE MYRTLE

Lagerstroemia indica, Lay-ger-stree'mee-a, Crape Myrtle. Deciduous tree or shrub, Zone 7. Heights: Range from true miniatures under 3 feet tall to tree form up to 25 feet tall.

Crape Myrtle has spectactular blooms from summer until frost.

Small flowers in large clusters have a texture like crepe paper and come in many shades of pink, rosy red, purple or white. The leaves are smooth ovals, 2-4 inches long, sometimes turning red, orange, or purplish in fall. Grey-tan outer bark flakes off the handsome muscular-looking trunks to reveal smooth mahogany inner bark. Cultivars vary in flower, color and ultimate size; some are dwarfs only 3-5 feet tall. Trees may be trained as single-trunked or multitrunked specimens. Dwarf shrubs add summer color to mixed hedges or borders.

How to grow: Full or part sun. Ordinary soil and watering. Thrives in hot weather and tolerates dry soil. Blooms on new growth; if shoots freeze back in a severe winter, it will recover the same year. Pruning and thinnning can produce larger flower clusters but aren't necessary. If you must prune, do so in November or December or while still fully dormant. It's better to plant a dwaft cultivar than to chop back a big tree form each year. Remove suckers at the base of large tree form varieties to expose and feature the trunks.

Some varieties of Crape Myrtle are naturally more susceptible to powdery mildew than others. Fungicide sprays such as Immunox, Daconil or Funginex will help.

Popular varieties of miniature weeping forms (reaching 2'-3' tall) are: Sacramento (red), Delta Blush (pink), New Orleans (purple), and World's Fair (watermelon red).

Popular varieties of true miniatures (reaching 12"-18" tall) are: Coral Filli (coral), Red Filli (red), and Pocomoke (rose-pink) which can reach up the 2'.

Popular dwarf varieties (reaching between 3'-6' tall) are: Pink Ruffles (light pink), Royalty (lavendar), Snow (white), Victor (dark red), and Tightwad Red (light red).

Popular medium varieties (reaching between 8'-10" tall) are: Acoma (white), Hopi (pink), Tonto (red), Zuni (lavender).

Popular tall varieties (reaching 20'-30' tall) are: Basham's Party Pink (lavender-pink), Natchez (white), Tuscarora (coral-pink), and Biloxi (pale pink).