Magnificent Crape Myrtle from Blooms to Bark and Foliage

When you plant a Sioux Crape Myrtle in your yard, your neighbors won’t be able to stop staring! Every season, there's something beautiful to look at with this variety.

In spring, the leaves emerge a coppery bronze before turning green. In summer, large clusters of dark pink flowers pop and continue to bloom into autumn. In fall, dark green leaves turn a unique blend of purple and red for an extended color display.

And don’t forget about the bark! Even when the leaves are all gone, the older brown bark intertwines with the brighter beige of the new bark underneath to create a stunning marbled effect.

The Sioux Crape Myrtle is positively perfect as a stand-alone tree, but it's equally as beautiful when used in mass plantings for a large show of summer flowers. What's more is that it's rather cold-hardy for a Crape Myrtle, thriving under thick layers of snow. It’s also drought tolerant and will require little maintenance to keep happy.

Place your order today for a Sioux Crape Myrtle so that by next summer, you can wow the neighborhood with its mass of delicate, pink flowers!

Planting & Care

1. Planting: Select a location with well-drained soil and full sun (6 to 8 hours of sunlight per day).

After you've found your planting area, make your hole twice as wide as the root ball and just as deep. Lightly comb your hands over the root ball to free up the roots a bit before planting. Place your tree in the hole and make sure that the root crown (where the root ball meets the trunk of the tree) is level with the soil surface. Tamp down the soil lightly as you backfill the hole to prevent air pockets from forming, and then water after you’ve finished. Finally, mulch the area around the tree to conserve water moisture and deter competing weeds and grasses from growing.

2. Watering: Crape Myrtles are drought tolerant but may need a bit more attention with watering during the hot summer season. During the cooler seasons, you’ll only need to water once weekly. If you're not sure when to water, simply check your surrounding soil down to about 3 inches for dryness.

3. Fertilizing: Your Crape Myrtle will greatly benefit from an annual feeding of high nitrogen fertilizer, such as a 20-10-10 slow-release formula, in the early spring season.

4. Pruning: Prune in the late winter before any of the growth begins. For a more graceful tree shape, remove all but 4 to 5 strong trunks and then remove the lateral branches around the bottom half of the tree. To encourage branching, make your cuts on the longer, leggy limbs.

Remove any damaged or crossing branches during the late winter. Also, be sure to remove any low-growing leaves and branches.