Lagerstroemia, Crape Myrtle, Japanese Crepe Myrtle 'Tonto'

I inherited Tonto with the house. I know it's Tonto because I found the tag still attached in the ground while weeding. It must have been...Read More planted for a while because the price was only $32.99 and is fully mature at 12' tall and five feet wide.

The size is too big for our location. I trimmed it about four feet off the top and it grew right back to the same height! Next spring I'll prune it much harder. Every branch has buds at the tips.The first flower cluster opened July 30th here in NJ. The shape is like panicle hydrangea flowers but the color is an intensely deep, hot pink. Just beautiful. I'll post another photo when it is in full bloom.

It's planted sheltered against the house from wind. It has southern exposure with almost full sun. Previous owners likely never watered nor fertilized it. There seems to be no die back from winter but is very slow to break dormancy in June. Worth the wait. I'm in zone 6b according to planthardiness on usda.gov.

This is one of the best crepe myrtles ever. The shape is very nice, very full, and the flowers never disappoint. Mine is about 15 years o...Read Moreld, and is at least 15' tall, maybe 20. I pruned out the side branches for a few years, but have not pruned, fertilized, or watered it for at least 10 years. Yet it flowers away, year after year. It grew very fast and has one of the nicest colors of any crepe myrtle.

Planted a 8-ft specimen (B&B) from a local nursery last year and had outstanding blooms. This year, nothing and no sign of buds. Plant ...Read Moregets full sun all day since it's in an east-west exposure. Local nursery said it takes time to acclimate to its new environment and suggested putting phosphorous down now (2 cups) to promote flowers next year. Looking for anyone who has had similar results. Tree is in Northern Virginia.

My garden is in zone 6. In recent years garden catalogs have advertised "Tonto" crape myrtles as being hardy for our area, so I took a ch...Read Moreance a few years back. I have always admired mature crape myrtles that I have seen while traveling down south.

Here in Connecticut, mine dies back to the ground every year, but so far has managed to survive the winters. However it takes quite awhile to get going in the spring and is one of the last plants to wake up in my yard. It manages to put out flowers too before the first frost (usually in October) and the flowers are as pretty as on any crape myrtle. However, because it dies back every year, I cannot get it to grow into a tree shape, and as a shrub it does not bring much to the landscape. Its shape is very open, and the branches are droopy.