Lagerstroemia indica Mardi Gras - Crape Myrtle

The 'Mardi Gras' Lagerstroemia indica is a bush with a unique personality. It has a miniature, almost prostrate habit, becoming weeping with time, and its abundant and long summer flowering is mauve turning pink-purple. It is also selected for its good hardiness. This small deciduous bush with a ball-like appearance will work wonders in a large pot on the terrace, but also in a rock garden or at the centre of a low perennial bed. It should be placed in a warm and sheltered location exposed to full sun, in neutral to acidic soil.

The 'Mardi Gras' Lagerstroemia indica is a dwarf horticultural cultivar of North American origin. It belongs to the Lythraceae family and descends from the Lagerstroemia indica, a deciduous bush native to China. 'Mardi Gras' is commonly classified among the 'Pixie' series, a line of bushes with a very compact growth, more suitable for small gardens and container gardening, but also for their increased hardiness (down to -15°C (5 °F)). This bush initially has an upright habit, then almost prostrate due to its branches that arch over time. It forms a ramified bush with a slightly weeping spreading crown. It will reach less than 1 m (3 ft 4 in) in all directions. Its growth is slow. It chooses the month of July to initiate its flowering, which will continue until October. The flowers are characterised by thin pedicels, each bearing five undulate-edged petals that make up this flower. The flowers, whose texture resembles crepe, are gathered in dense panicles at the ends of the branches from current year. In 'Mardi Gras', the buds are dark mauve, then they open up to intense mauve-pink. The foliage is leathery and deciduous, born red and then becoming a shiny light green. It comprises small oval leaves, which sometimes take on pretty yellow or red hues in autumn depending on the climate. Lastly, its bark is beautiful, smooth, beige-striate with brown-red, peeling off in coloured patches (cinnamon, faded red, old pink, cream).

Varieties of Lagerstroemia like 'Mardi Gras' make these fantastic little trees accessible to all gardens and sunny terraces. With a modest size, a fluffy and floriferous habit, this variety will look good in front of a shrub bed, a flowering hedge. Design a bed like a mixed display, with Campanula pyramidalis, Salvia sclarea, Aster laevis. In autumn, the bush is accompanied br asters as colourful as itself. In a pot on the terrace, it puts on a show while summer blooms fade. We have imagined a simple three-colour plant tapestry as a ground cover to highlight the summer Lilac 'Mardi Gras'. A carpet of Ceratostigma plumbaginoides, baskets of Silver and Erigeron karvinskianus will reflect its stunning flowering.

NB: Karl Von Linné named this tree to honour 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 that have a narcotic effect if ingested.