There are many different varieties of Crape Myrtles but a limited number that thrive in South Texas. With the proper cultivar and proper placement, they will provide color and form to your landscape for many years. They do love the sun and need a half a day of sunlight or more. All of the below varieties are drought tolerant once established and are mildew resistant. They all bloom clusters of crepe-like blooms.
Our favorites are:
(Listing From Tallest To Shortest)
| Basham | up to 30′ tall | lavender-pink blooms |
| Natchez | up to 25′ tall | white blooms |
| Arapaho | up to 20′ tall | red blooms with maroon tinged foliage |
| Red Rocket | up to 15′ tall | ruby red blooms with dark green foliage |
| Dynamite | up to 15′ tall | fire red blooms |
| Catawba | up to 15′ tall | purple blooms |
| Zuni | up to 12′ tall | purple blooms |
| Tonto | 8′-10′ tall | dark red blooms |
| Hopi | up to 10′ tall | light pink blooms |
| Ebony Flame | up to 10′ tall | dark foliage with red blooms |
| Ebony Ivory | up to 10′ tall | dark foliage with white blooms |
*Please note – most dwarf varieties do not do well in our area without pampering.
From the above, the Basham Party Pink Crape Myrtle provides the fastest and most shade, growing up to 30′ tall.
When selecting your variety, make sure you give it plenty of space, height and width. As with all trees, trim as needed to eliminate branches from rubbing against each other and prune off lower “twiggy” growth, but do not “top” prune. If you purchase a Crape Myrtle as a young plant, you can select which trunks you want to keep and get rid of the rest to give it the form you want it to have as a mature plant.
It’s a wonder to watch Crape Myrtles go from ordinary to extraordinary in a matter of days as they start blooming in late spring. Look down most neighborhood streets to find a multiple of white, pinks, reds and purples high above homes. Crape Myrtles are a beautiful long-lived addition to your landscape. They are cold hardy, great color for summer, provide fall colored foliage and interesting bark (exfoliating), and drought tolerant once established.
We think Crape Myrtles are a winner for landscapes and will give you years of enjoyment!
-Sally & Debbie
Maria A. Banks says
what is the best way to remove palm stumps and root?
RonM says
We want to plant 6 or 7 crape myrtles this spring along a front fence. We live near San Antonio (near Boerne). One issue is that the ground around our house is very rocky with caliche. The top foot or two is mixed soil and rocks, and then after you get further down, it’s just caliche slab. I have access to a mini-excavator and will be using that to dig the holes. We want to start with good sized plants – 6 or 8 feet – that will grow quickly. We’d be extremely grateful if you could give us any advice about what variety to plant, and how to ensure that they’ll grow successfully in our conditions.
james says
You would like to have 18 to 24 inches of soil depth, even if it is mixed with rocks, before you hit solid limestone. And that depth of soil should be spread out over a pretty good diameter, the roots will grow laterally, 8 to 15 feet or more in all directions. They don’t actually grow down all that deep and that’s why 18 to 24 inches is deep enough. Ask your local Texas certified nurse or professional what would be a good strong and vigorous crape myrtle variety for your area. But I would suggest you might consider a Texas native tree instead. like Mexican buckeye or Mexican red Bud or possibly some other native tree. All of those should be more drought tolerant than the crêpe myrtles.