Lagerstroemia Enduring Summer Lavender - Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia Enduring Summer Lavender is a very attractive variety of Indian Lilac with a compact habit. Its abundant lavender mauve flowering lasts throughout the summer. When the young shoots appear, they are purple and turn into a shiny dark green throughout the growing season. In autumn, the foliage takes over from the flowering and displays beautiful red tones. Selected for its good hardiness, this bush can also be grown in pots in colder regions. It has all the qualities for decorating small gardens and terraces, and thrives in full sun, in fertile, light, and not too dry soil.

The 'Enduring Summer Lavender' Indian Lilac belongs to the small family of Lythraceae, known to also host the pomegranate (Punica granatum) as well as the Cuphea. The Lagerstroemia can withstand temperatures down to -10°C (14 °F) to -15°C (5 °F) depending on the varieties. However, it needs warmth to bloom, which limits its interest in northern areas, even though its bark becomes decorative as the branches or trunk grow. Indeed, in cooler areas, it is most often present in the form of a bush, but in the south, one can come across specimens formed as trees.

'Enduring Summer Lavender' Lagerstroemia is a relatively recent variety (2008), bred by Joshua Kardos at the University of Georgia in the United States. This variety is remarkable for its compact habit, forming a regular ball with a diameter of 1.50 m (4 ft 11 in) at maturity. Its flowering is magnificent, with a superb mauve to lavender colour, covering the bush with numerous clusters. The rather airy inflorescences are composed of slender pedicels, each bearing a flower with five undulate petals, whose texture resembles that of crepe. The leathery, deciduous leaves have a beautiful purple hue when they appear in spring. Then, the small oval leaves turn a fairly shiny dark green, which provides a superb background for the flowers from July to September. At the end of the season, the foliage is highlighted by the warm red colours it takes on in autumn. Lagerstroemia grows in moist, well-drained soil and adapts to most types of soil, from neutral to slightly acidic or slightly chalky. It needs a sunny exposure and must be pruned every year at the end of winter to ensure good flowering.

The Indian Lilacs are renowned in gardens in the Southwest of France, with some local nurseries specializing in them. Preferring humid and warm regions to dry and windy ones, it nevertheless succeeds in many fairly sunny regions. This bush also deserves to be acclimated in colder areas by carefully choosing the variety and its location; Enduring Lavender is a good candidate for that. It is when isolated, near the house, that you can fully enjoy its flowering. It also looks good in a shrub border, a flowering hedge, or emerging from a mound of perennials. To create a cluster of summer blooms, you can associate it with Lavateras, large and very resistant perennials, or Hibiscus syriacus with their stunning colours. You can also plant alongside 'Enduring Summer Lavender' the sculptural Acanthus, with sculptural leaves, whose originality is equalled only by that of their floral spikes, true botanical works of art. To further extend the flowering season into autumn, consider the generous Autumn Asters, which will brighten up the sometimes grey days at the end of the season.

Note: Karl Von Linné named this tree to pay tribute to his friend Magnus Von Lagestroem (1696 - 1759), who had sent it to him from India for identification. Originally, this tree was used to decorate Chinese temples. We would like to point out that this tree produces fruits with narcotic effects if ingested.