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Lagerstroemia indica 'Comanche'

Crapemyrtle

Features dark green foliage turning dark orange to dark reddish purple in fall, mottled sandlewood bark which exfoliates with age and terminal, crepe-papery, 6-9" long inflorescences (panicles) of coral pink flowers from mid-summer to early fall. Flowers give way to seed capsules which often persist well into winter. In the South, this cultivar can easily be grown as a woody shrub or trained as a small single trunk tree with a maximum size of 11' tall and 12' wide.

• Upright form and broad crown
• July to mid-September flowers are coral pink
• Fall color ranges dark orange red to dark purple red

Best grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun. Does well in loamy, clay soils with good drainage. Benefits from a slow release fertilizer. Overly fertile soils tend to produce lush foliage growth at the expense of flowering with somewhat increased susceptibility to winter injury. Lagerstroemia is a genus of about 40 species of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and trees from warm-temperate to tropical areas of Asia to Australia. They are grown for their very showy, lovely summer to fall bloom. In warmer areas many can be grown as trees but in colder climates they may be killed to the ground but resprout from below ground to be grown more as shrubs. 'Comanche' is a cross between L. indica and L. fauriei. It is one of several mildew resistant hybrids developed by the National Arboretum in Washington, D.C., all of which have been given the names of Native American tribes.