Overview

Transform your outdoor space with the stunning Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant. Revered for its exceptional beauty and resilience, the ‘Natchez’ cultivar of Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei is a vigorous and long-blooming selection that will become a focal point in any landscape. This particular offering is for one Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant, shipped in a trade gallon pot, ready for planting. Known for its graceful, upright habit, it can be grown as a large shrub or trained into a beautiful small tree. Its most striking features include its smooth, dark, cinnamon-brown exfoliating bark, which provides year-round interest, especially in winter. Beyond its captivating bark, the Natchez Crape Myrtle boasts glossy dark green leaves that provide a lush backdrop throughout the growing season, before transforming into a spectacular display of vibrant orange-red in the fall. This combination of features ensures that the white crape myrtle provides multi-seasonal appeal, making it an excellent investment for any garden enthusiast.

The pure white, soft-textured flowers of the Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant are truly a sight to behold, appearing in large panicles that cover the plant from early summer all the way through to early fall. This extended bloom period ensures a continuous burst of color when many other plants are beginning to fade. Its robust nature and adaptability make it a popular choice for various landscape designs, whether used as a specimen plant, an accent in a mixed border, or as part of a group planting to create a dramatic effect. This easy-to-grow tree is a fantastic option for gardeners seeking a low-maintenance yet high-impact plant. With its striking appearance and extended season of interest, the Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is a superb addition to any garden or yard, promising years of beauty and enjoyment.

Key Benefits

The Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant offers a multitude of benefits that make it a standout choice for any garden. Its exceptional qualities ensure it’s not just another plant, but a true landscape enhancer, providing beauty and value for years to come. Here are some of the key advantages of incorporating this magnificent plant into your outdoor design:

• Spectacular White Blooms: Enjoy an abundance of pure white, soft-textured flowers in large panicles that bloom continuously from early summer through fall, providing extended seasonal color. The vibrant display from this white crape myrtle is truly eye-catching.
• Attractive Exfoliating Bark: The smooth, dark, cinnamon-brown bark peels away to reveal lighter patches, creating a unique and highly ornamental feature that provides year-round visual interest, especially prominent in winter. This distinctive bark sets it apart.
• Vibrant Fall Foliage: Glossy dark green leaves transform into brilliant shades of orange-red in autumn, adding another layer of seasonal beauty to your landscape. This dramatic fall color extends the plant’s appeal.
• Versatile Landscape Use: Perfect as a striking specimen plant, an elegant accent in garden beds, or planted in groups for a more dramatic, massed effect. Its adaptability makes it suitable for various garden styles.
• Drought Tolerant & Low Maintenance: Once established, the Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is highly tolerant of drought and requires minimal care, making it an excellent choice for busy gardeners or those in drier climates. This resilience contributes to its popularity.
• Disease Resistance: This particular cultivar is known for its good resistance to powdery mildew, a common issue for many crape myrtles, ensuring a healthier and more attractive plant. This feature contributes to its ease of care.
• Fast Growing: The Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant establishes quickly and grows at a moderate to fast rate, providing significant impact in a relatively short period.

Plant Care & Growing Tips

Caring for your Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is relatively straightforward, making it a rewarding choice for both novice and experienced gardeners. To ensure your white crape myrtle thrives and produces its best blooms and fall color, proper siting and consistent care are essential. This tree prefers a location with full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day. Adequate sunlight is crucial for prolific flowering and to prevent powdery mildew. In hotter climates, some afternoon shade can be beneficial to protect the foliage from scorching, but too much shade will reduce flowering.

When it comes to watering, young Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant specimens require regular watering to help establish a strong root system. Water deeply and consistently during its first year, especially during dry spells. Once established, it becomes quite drought-tolerant, only needing supplemental watering during prolonged periods of drought. For optimal growth, plant your crape myrtle in well-draining soil. It tolerates a wide range of soil types, including clay, loam, and sand, but it will perform best in slightly acidic to neutral soil that drains well. Avoid heavy, waterlogged soils, as this can lead to root rot. Good drainage is key for the long-term health of your outdoor flowering tree.

Fertilize your crape myrtle in early spring before new growth begins, using a balanced, slow-release granular fertilizer formulated for trees and shrubs. Avoid over-fertilizing, as this can lead to excessive foliage growth at the expense of flowers. Pruning is best done in late winter or early spring before new growth emerges. Remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches. To encourage a tree-like form, remove lower branches, leaving 3-5 main trunks. For a shrub form, you can prune to maintain size and shape. The crape myrtle care routine is minimal once the plant is established, primarily focusing on occasional watering and yearly pruning. The Lagerstroemia indica Natchez is known for its hardiness and adaptability, making it a robust choice for many climates.

Size & Details

This offering is for one Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant, which arrives in a trade gallon pot. The plant’s initial size will vary depending on the time of year and growth cycle, but it is typically well-rooted and ready for planting upon arrival. When mature, the Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant typically grows to a height of 20-30 feet with a spread of 15-20 feet, making it a substantial focal point in the landscape. Its growth rate is considered moderate to fast, allowing it to establish and mature relatively quickly. It is shipped as a healthy, actively growing plant, carefully packaged to ensure its safe arrival. The trade gallon pot provides adequate space for the root system during transit and allows for a smooth transition to your garden. This outdoor flowering tree is known for its vigor and will quickly establish itself in your landscape.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Q: How big does this plant get? A: The Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant can grow to a mature height of 20-30 feet and a width of 15-20 feet, making it a large shrub or small tree suitable for various landscape uses.
• Q: What size pot does it come in? A: This Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is shipped in a trade gallon pot, providing a well-established root system for successful transplanting into your garden.
• Q: Is this an indoor or outdoor plant? A: The Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is strictly an outdoor plant, thriving in full sun and suitable for landscaping in appropriate USDA hardiness zones. It is a robust outdoor flowering tree.
• Q: How much sunlight does it need? A: This plant requires full sun, meaning at least 6-8 hours of direct sunlight per day, to ensure optimal flowering and overall health. Adequate light is crucial for a beautiful white crape myrtle.
• Q: Is this plant easy to care for? A: Yes, the Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is considered relatively easy to care for, especially once established. It is drought-tolerant and disease-resistant, making crape myrtle care manageable for most gardeners.
• Q: What condition will it arrive in? A: Your Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant will arrive as a healthy, actively growing plant, carefully packaged to minimize stress during transit and ensure it’s ready for planting.
• Q: How long until it blooms? A: Depending on the age of the plant and planting time, your Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant can begin blooming in its first or second year, with established plants producing abundant flowers from early summer through fall.
• Q: When is the best time to plant? A: The best time to plant your Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is in spring or early fall, allowing the roots to establish before extreme summer heat or winter cold.
• Q: Will it survive winter in my zone? A: The Natchez Crape Myrtle live plant is generally hardy in USDA Zones 7-9, and sometimes into Zone 6 with protection. Check your local hardiness zone to ensure it’s suitable for your climate.
• Q: What’s the minimum temperature it can tolerate? A: This variety of Lagerstroemia indica Natchez can typically tolerate temperatures down to around 0°F to 10°F (-18°C to -12°C) once established, though younger plants may need winter protection in colder zones.