Plant Library

Other Names:  Crape Myrtle, Crepe Myrtle

Group/Class:  Fleming Filligrees

Description:

This beautiful and delicate looking dwarf crapemyrtle is extremely cold hardy with volumes of violet frilly blooms all summer long; it is a captivating focal point for the garden or border; also good for container planting

Ornamental Features

Violet Filli Crapemyrtle is blanketed in stunning panicles of violet frilly flowers at the ends of the branches from early to late summer. It has attractive dark green deciduous foliage which emerges coppery-bronze in spring. The oval leaves are highly ornamental but do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Violet Filli Crapemyrtle is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a mounded form. Its relatively fine texture sets it apart from other landscape plants with less refined foliage.

This shrub will require occasional maintenance and upkeep. Trim off the flower heads after they fade and die to encourage more blooms late into the season. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Violet Filli Crapemyrtle is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Mass Planting
• Rock/Alpine Gardens
• General Garden Use
• Groundcover
• Container Planting

Planting & Growing

Violet Filli Crapemyrtle will grow to be about 18 inches tall at maturity, with a spread of 18 inches. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for approximately 20 years.

This shrub does best in full sun to partial shade. It prefers to grow in average to moist conditions, and shouldn't be allowed to dry out. It is very fussy about its soil conditions and must have rich, acidic soils to ensure success, and is subject to chlorosis (yellowing) of the foliage in alkaline soils. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This is a selected variety of a species not originally from North America.

Violet Filli Crapemyrtle makes a fine choice for the outdoor landscape, but it is also well-suited for use in outdoor pots and containers. It is often used as a 'filler' in the 'spiller-thriller-filler' container combination, providing a mass of flowers and foliage against which the thriller plants stand out. Note that when grown in a container, it may not perform exactly as indicated on the tag - this is to be expected. Also note that when growing plants in outdoor containers and baskets, they may require more frequent waterings than they would in the yard or garden.