Miami Crepe Myrtle

Miami crepe myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei 'Miami') is a medium flowering tree that earns its place three times over in a single year. It carries deep coral pink flowers through the hottest months, colours up before dropping its leaves in autumn, then spends winter showing smooth chestnut brown bark on an upright frame. Mature size is about 5m tall and 3m wide, small enough for a suburban front garden and big enough to sit under.

Why you'll love it

• Flowers when little else bothers. Heavy trusses of coral pink through summer and into autumn, holding on through heat that stops most flowering trees.
• Three seasons of interest. Summer flower, autumn colour, then bare chestnut bark and clean branch structure in winter. Few trees this size do all three.
• Non-invasive roots. Safe to plant near paving, driveways and services, which is exactly why crepe myrtles line so many Australian streets.
• Tough and undemanding. Frost hardy, drought tolerant, heat tolerant and content in poor soil once it has established.
• Safe around pets. Not toxic to cats or dogs, and the flowers bring in bees and butterflies through summer.

Where it works best

Feature planting. One tree in a front garden or a lawn does the whole job. Give it 3m of width and stand back.

Driveways and avenues. Space plants 3m to 4m apart along a drive so the canopies almost touch at maturity without crowding.

Small gardens and courtyards. At 5m it stays in proportion with a single storey house, the canopy casts dappled rather than heavy shade, and the deciduous habit lets winter sun into the rooms behind it.

Growing Miami crepe myrtle in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun, always. Shade costs you flowers first and invites leaf disease second. This variety suits subtropical, warm temperate, cool temperate and Mediterranean gardens, most of the populated parts of the country. As one of the indica crossed with fauriei hybrids, it resists the powdery mildew that spoils older crepe myrtles in humid weather.

Soil. Adaptable, including poor ground, provided it drains. Improve heavy clay with compost and plant slightly proud of the surrounding soil level.

Water. Deep soak weekly through the first two summers, then it manages on much less. A drink during a long dry spell extends the flowering.

Feeding and pruning. Feed with a complete fertiliser in early spring as the leaves break. Prune in late winter while the tree is bare, removing crossing branches and thin twiggy growth and lifting the lower limbs to show the bark. Do not cut every branch back to stumps, which produces whippy growth and ruins the shape.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: tube, 200mm in packs of six, 300mm and 500mm. Tubes and 200mm packs are the affordable way to line a driveway, and they grow quickly once established. The 300mm pot suits a single garden tree, and the 500mm arrives with a formed trunk and the start of a canopy.

Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. This tree is deciduous, so a plant delivered in winter arrives leafless and dormant, which is normal and in fact the ideal time to plant. Every plant is covered by our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Compare every crepe myrtle colour and size
• Browse flowering and shade trees
• Preparing a garden bed before planting

Common questions

When does it flower and for how long?

From early summer into autumn in most gardens, with the heaviest flush in the hottest weeks. Removing spent flower heads often brings on a second lighter flush.

My tree arrived with no leaves. Is it dead?

Almost certainly not. Crepe myrtles are deciduous and drop everything over winter. Scratch the bark with a thumbnail: green underneath means the plant is dormant and healthy.

Can I keep it smaller than 5m?

Yes, within reason. Annual winter pruning holds it around 3m to 4m. Cutting harder spoils the branch structure and bark display that make the tree worth having.