PlantFiles: Japanese Crepe Myrtle, Crape Myrtle
Lagerstroemia x fauriei 'Tonto'

it is a decent plant. I think for warmer climates where it can survive above ground, it provides decent flowers though there would be others I would plant there though. i never noticed mildew where i grew it among crowded perennials. It survived here as a grow back shrub after lows near -18 for several days in the winter of 08-09. It grows back to flower again as a 3-4 footer come late summer.

Beautiful fuschia-red flowers in late July, Aug, and Sept. No dieback here in southeast PA, but i do have it on the south side of my house. I have seen some specimens locally in excess of 15' tall. Japanese beetle can be a problem for crapes: Bayer tree and shrub has worked wonderfully!

I have four of these on the west side of my house where they get the winter wind and the summer heat in zone 5. I've had them for two years and both winters they died back almost to the ground. In the spring, growth started slow, but eventually got four to six feet tall. The foliage is strong and healthy. In late August, the plants burst into bloom with a profusion of glorious dark pink blooms covering the bushes. It is the prettiest sight in my neighborhood. Plants are incredibly heat tolerant and vigorous.