Crape myrtles pack a summer punch

You've got to love a plant that blooms its head off in the heat of summer.
And, this year, it seems the crape myrtles really have their party clothes on.
"I think they have been especially wonderful this year too," LSU AgCenter horticulturist Denyse Cummins said in an e-mail answer to my question about best crape myrtle cultivars.
Her picks?
"I really think the best ones are those 25 that were released by the National Arboretum a few years ago. They were part of a breeding program that concentrated on pretty bark and disease resistance and all have American Indian tribe names. It would be hard to pick a few favorites, but if I had to, I'd pick Natchez or Tuscarora out of those."
Denyse said the white Natchez is a very tall tree that often gets planted in a space that's too small.
"If it goes into a sunny space where it has room, it has good bark and a lovely, graceful shape," she said. "Tuscarora is a dead ringer for the old-fashioned watermelon red one, but does not get defoliated by that horrible cercospora leaf spot, which knocks the leaves off of so many of the old cultivars in late summer."
Another favorite is Basham's Party Pink, which Denyse described as a good heavy bloomer with a medium pink color and a nice shape that doesn't get too big.
She's also high on shrub crape myrtles.
"I saw them blooming in trials at Burden Research Plantation in Baton Rouge and they really knocked me out. They had the perfectly rounded shapes and total bloom coverage of a good azalea."
Among shrub cultivars are Chickasaw and Pokemoke, which are more of the National Arboretum introductions, and several in the Razzle Dazzle series.
As for growing them, Denyse says crape myrtles are pretty care free.
"Full sun and proper spacing is the key," she said. "If you try to grow them in a shadier location, they will stretch and lose their shape and have all the flowers up high where you can't enjoy them. They will also be more prone to cercospora leaf spot and aphid attack. I tend to ignore both of those problems, since they never do much damage to the tree, but they are a nuisance. The older varieties can get powdery mildew and I'd rather replace that tree than start a regular spray program. When it's bad, it's really bad."