First Editions® Midnight Magic™ Crape Myrtle Shrub

Purple-leaved shrubs are a breath of fresh air in the heat of the summer garden. First Editions® Midnight Magic™ Crape Myrtle Shrub PP#25,295 (Lagerstroemia 'PIILAG-V') has purple/maroon leaves that will not only breathe new life into your tired landscape but will add mystery, drama and depth!

As if the richly colored leaves weren't enough, Crape Myrtles bloom from July to September with amazing dark pink flowers that cover the shrub by the bushel. At a time of the year when many garden shrubs are flagging from the heat, Midnight Magic™ just getting started! You'll enjoy the deep pink color for longer and so will many pollinators like hummingbirds and butterflies!

Midnight Magic™ Crape Myrtle is naturally round and compact, and even keeps its dark leaf color in the high heat of a southern summer! This is a great replacement for Purple Leaf Plums in places where these Plums are completely defoliated by August.

Sometimes spelled as one word or sometimes as Crepe Myrtle, the First Editions® Magic Myrtles bloom in early summer and, if deadheaded, again in late summer! The flowers of all Crape Myrtle selections are long-lasting! This plant is a perfect choice, whether you are a newbie or an experienced gardener.

Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 6 to 9, these low-growing shrubs reach just 4-6 feet in height and spread 6-10 feet wide! Making Midnight Magic™ a fantastic hedge that covers ground far and wide. Gardeners in growing zones 5 and under can still grow Midnight Magic™ as a fast-growing annual and overwinter them in a protected cool location.

Planting and Application:

Plant this beauty as a striking specimen plant to accent your front steps or as your home's foundation hedge! Anchor a garden bed or use a single Midnight Magic™ as a garden crown jewel.

Cottage gardens and Rock gardens are both ideal locations for these glamorous blooming shrubs! Try it in a mixed perennial border where the deep pink flowers look great with yellow perennials or tan Ornamental Grass! Other plants with deep purple or near-black foliage and pink or purple blooms also match Midnight Magic™!

Use as impressive specimen and garden accents in both their shrub form, providing interest all year, whether from foliage, flowers, or bark in the winter! The naturally rounded shape needs little pruning to look good, but can be kept smaller to better suit smaller landscapes and even container gardens!

You can also grow Midnight Magic™ in a large, decorative outdoor container! Try a pair of them flanking either side of a sunny front door or the entrance to a garden path. Pop them here and there, wherever you need a boost of color in your landscape. They also make great strategic screening plants or accent plants just where you need them around your patio, poolside, porch, or balcony!

Create a privacy hedge with several of them planted in a row as backdrops and as a pretty barrier along your property line. Please note that you can keep them trimmed as low as you'd like. For a hedge, plant 4 feet apart on center. You'll measure from the center of one to the center of the next.

• Deep Purplish-Maroon Foliage Won’t Fade
• Unique Deep Pink Blooms
• Great Alternative for Purple-Leaf Plum
• Attractive Bark & Ornamental Seed Pods for Winter
• Hummingbird Favorite & Pollinators Galore!
• Use in Large Containers, Hedges, Specimens & Landscape Accents

#ProPlantTips for Care:

When you plant these incredibly easy-care shrubs just need full sun and plenty of water during their first year. The most important thing is to give it full sun, at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day. The more sun, the more flowers! Crapes perform best in well-drained soils. Give Crapes a moderate amount of water on a regular basis. Once their roots are established in your native soil, they'll become drought-tolerant. However, you'll really see the best flowering with an even amount of water. Once it is established it will reward you with years of carefree blooms!

Try to give Pink Crape Myrtle a planting site with good air circulation and receives direct sunlight in the morning. This is the drying sun and will quickly dry up any overnight dew. This greatly improves the plant's ability to be resistant to powdery mildew. Use drip irrigation, too, not overhead lawn sprinklers. Give your plantings a 3-4 inch layer of mulch to keep the roots cool and hold in moisture.

The massive pink flower clusters are born on the branch tips on new growth. You can prune to the correct shape before it starts growing in late winter or very early spring. During the growing season, this deciduous shrub produces clusters of charmingly frilly flowers that last for months. If they begin to fade, feel free to deadhead spent blooms, they will likely rebloom for you!

• Fast Growing In Full Sun
• Water New Plants Regularly - Drought Tolerant Once Established
• Pruning Best in Spring
• Widely Adaptable - Any Well-Drained Soil
• Deer Don't Prefer the Taste

Let the First Editions® Midnight Magic™ work its own special brand of magic in your yard! Order yours today from Nature Hills!