Catawba Purple Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia Indica ‘Catawba’
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7a-10b Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub or Tree
Height at Maturity: 10-12′
Width at Maturity: 10-12′
Spacing: 8′ for solid hedge; 15’+ for space between plants
Spacing: 8′ for solid hedge; 15’+ for space between plants
Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Rounded, Upright
Growth Rate: Fast
Flower Color: Bright Purple
Flowering Period: All Summer – up to 120 days!
Flower Type: Single flowers in large rounded to elongated clusters
Fragrant Flowers: No
Foliage Color: Rich Green
Fall Foliage Color: Bright Red
Fall Foliage Color: Bright Red
Fragrant Foliage: No
Bark Color: Grey, Brown
Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun
Water Needs: Average, low when established
Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt
Soil Drainage: Well Drained
Soil pH: 5.0 – 6.5
Maintenance / Care: Low
Attracts: Visual Attention, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds
Resistances: Deer – more info, Disease, Moderate Drought, Heat
Description
When it comes to flowering trees, there’s simply no others more showy than Crape Myrtles. They bloom for up to 100 days during summer, when there are few other trees and shrubs providing that service in the landscape. Colorful fall foliage and attractive exfoliating bark in winter enhance their overall appeal. It’s no wonder they are so wildly popular among designers and gardeners!
The Catawba Crape Myrtle is one of a few crape myrtle trees with true, dark purple flowers. Abundant large flower clusters nearly covering the foliage begin appearing in early summer and continue through early fall. But brilliant flower color isn’t the only special attribute. The leaves of Catawba emerge an attractive bronze color in spring before maturing to rich green in summer and finally to a brilliant orange-red in fall.
Landscape & Garden Uses
Growing to 10-12 feet tall and 10 to 12 feet wide, Catawba Crape Myrtle is ideal for use as a specimen or in groupings in landscape borders and home foundation plantings. Also nice in straight or staggered rows to line a driveway or property line. A fine addition to purple theme gardens.
Spacing: 8 feet apart for solid hedge; 15 feet apart for space between trees
Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 7a, where this Crape Myrtle variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.
Growing Preferences
Catawba Crape Myrtle is very easy to grow. It is not picky about soil type provided the soil is well-drained. A moist but well-drained soil of average fertility is preferred. Full sun is preferred and results in heavier flower production. Light shade is tolerated but flowering will be diminished in more shade. Has shown high resistance to powdery mildew and is quite drought tolerant when established.
Helpful Articles
Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Crape Myrtle trees.
How To Plant A Crape Myrtle In The Ground Or In A Pot
How To Prune a Crape Myrtle Tree the Right Way
How To Fertilize & Water A Crape Myrtle
How To Prune a Dwarf Crape Myrtle
Choosing the Right Crape Myrtle
Plant Long & Prosper!
Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff
Questions? Contact Us!
This is the first plant I have ordered from Wilson Bros and it won’t be the last. The plant was incredibly healthy with tons of buds on it. It was also extremely well packaged. Very impressed with this company.————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
When this tree showed up it looked absolutely dead.due to a delay in shipping. I was extremely disappointed. So I got on the phone with Wilsin Bros who told me to plant these dead sticks and that they would grow. They were right I put the sickly looking sticks in the ground and lo and behold it sprouted all new leaves and is coming along well. Bye from them you won’t be disappointed!—————————-So sorry about the delay in shipping! But I’m glad it’s doing well now! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth | WBG





















Reviews
There are no reviews yet.