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Crapemyrtles:
Hot Plants for Hot Weather
by Gary W. Knox
Whew! It's HOT out there! Summer weather can be sweltering, not fit for man nor beast. Even much of the Plant Kingdom suffers from the heat.
Except, that is, for crapemyrtle.
While most other garden plants droop and wilt from summer's heat and humidity, crapemyrtle thrives and puts on a spectacular show of flowers all summer long. Its disease resistance and heat- and drought-tolerance make it as tough as it is beautiful. To paraphrase a favorite postal saying, "Neither rain, nor drought, nor heat, nor humidity shall keep the crapemyrtle from its appointed flowering."
Crapemyrtle is one of our most beloved summer flowering plants. Long appreciated for its beauty and brawn, Southern gardeners of the 1800s had just one species of crapemyrtle to enjoy, Lagerstroemia indica, and it came in one color, watermelon red. Thanks to modern explorers and breeders (and the plant's diversity), we now have dozens of cultivars with flower colors of lavender, purple, white, pink, or red, including new varieties with "true red" flowers.
We even have crapemyrtle available in different sizes to suit all your garden needs for trees, shrubs, groundcovers, container plants, large perennial bedding plants and hanging baskets. Tree-form crapemyrtles are ideal as flowering specimen trees or as small, flowering shade trees near patios, walkways, and entrances. Shrub forms make an excellent accent in a shrub border when planted in groups. Dwarf plants are effective as large groundcovers, perennial bedding plants, or container plants providing colorful summer flowers.
Planting and Garden Care
Crapemyrtle is hardy in USDA Hardiness Zones 7-10 (most of the West Coast and southeastern U.S.)*. Gardeners in colder areas can use crapemyrtle as a summer flowering container plant.
Crapemyrtle needs sun to flower freely, so look for a site receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Crapemyrtle is very drought tolerant and almost seems to thrive on neglect. On the other hand, regular watering and fertilizer will help crapemyrtle grow faster and bigger.
When it comes to planting, crapemyrtle is very tolerant and forgiving with two exceptions. Firstly, crapemyrtle will not grow in wet soils. Secondly, never plant crapemyrtle too deep - if you do so, it will pay you back by not flowering for years and years. Planting too deep literally smothers the roots, requiring the crapemyrtle to regenerate a new root system in the soil above. This takes time and energy that the plant could otherwise use for making flowers.
Don't Commit "Crape Murder"!
Make sure you don't plant a tree-size crapemyrtle in an area too small for its ultimate size, or you'll find yourself pruning it hard - and often - to keep it from out-growing its place. Crapemyrtle is fast growing, so it won't take long to fill its place in your garden, even if you start with a small plant.
The Beauty Doesn't Stop
Breeders are continuing to improve and introduce new crapemyrtles. Look for new dwarf crapemyrtles, including a red-flowered form called Cherry Dazzle®.
Many breeders are working to broaden the ornamental appeal of crapemyrtle even further by searching for new flower colors as well as red leaf color that stays red all summer long! Stay tuned as the world of crapemyrtle continues to expand and improve!
Gary W. Knox
* All the varieties of the Razzle Dazzle® Series of dwarf crapemyrtles are hardy in zones 6-9.
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Late Summer
Edition 
Did You Know?
- "In 1759, Carl Linnaeus, the father of our orderly system of plant names, described and named lagerstromia
(the botanical name for Crapemyrtle) in honor of his close friend, Magnus von Lagerstrom of Gothenberg, Sweden. Lagerstrom was an enthusiastic naturalist and worked with the Swedish East Indies Company, an early shipping business."
- David Byers
- Crapemyrtles were first planted and admired in the United States in 1750. George Washington planted seeds from the East Indies in 1799 into his garden.
- "Guess what's going to happen in August 2008: According to the United nations population division, the number of people in the world's cities will surpass that of those in rural areas during the latter part of August 2008. At midmonth, the urban and rural populations are forcast to be equally split, each having about 3.35 billion people." (Courtesy of SLW, Bangor, Maine)
- The Old Farmers 2008 Almanac
- The first woody plant intentionally pruned by man is believed to have been the grapevine in Armenia around 6,000 B.C.
- Cool as a cucumber? The inside of a cucumber on the vine measures as much as 20 degrees cooler than outside air on a warm day.
- A hummingbird can feed at over 1,000 flowers in an average day.
Razzle Dazzle® Series
Very versatile!
 With bold reds or soft pinks, the
Razzle Dazzle® Series
of Crapemyrtles has a variety of colors to use in small spaces and the hot sun. These shrub forms lend themselves to many versatile uses in the outdoor living landscape. If you have a spot next to your mailbox, lining your driveway or next to your deck, these shrub forms will work great as a specimen planting or as part of a perennial garden.
 It also gives form and color to a container planting. Count on blooms from summer until fall and then enjoy the fall foliage color of blazing reds.
All are hardy in zones 6-9, very drought tolerant once established, and disease and pest resistant.
5 unique varieties available:
Cherry Dazzle - cherry red, 3-5' x 3-5', red-purple fall color
Raspberry Dazzle - upright grower, 4-5' x 2-3', raspberry red, fiery reddish-orange fall color
Dazzle Me Pink - beautiful medium pink bloomer, 3-5' x 3-5'
Snow Dazzle - white blooms, low mounding form, 2-3' x 2-3'
Ruby Dazzle - popular for its burgundy foliage and form, very tight 2-3' x 2-3'
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About our contributor
Gary Knox is Professor of Environmental Horticulture with the University of Florida
and a long-time gardener in Tallahassee, Florida. He has a professional interest and personal obsession with collecting and evaluating plants. Current plant passions include crapemyrtle, magnolia, hydrangea, rain lilies, hardy palms, succulents, ornamental grasses, ornamental vines and many other plants (so many species, so little time . . .).
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