Lagerstroemia indica Bergerac - Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica 'Bergerac’ is a Indian myrtle with spectacular summer flowers, in a bright red to magenta pink shades with gold yellow stamens. This charming deciduous shrub seduces with its bushy habit and its shiny green leaf, which changes colour in autumn, and its decorative bark. Craving sun and heat, this variety will flourish better in the southern regions. With many beautiful features, Indian myrtles are among the most beautiful shrubs with summer flowers. As such, they deserve a special place in the garden or on the terrace.

Lagerstroemia indica 'Bergerac' belongs to the Lythraceae family. Lagerstroemia indica, from which it originates, is native to China. ‘Bergerac’ was selected in 1987 at the Demartis nursery in Dordogne. This shruc presents a bushy habit. It will reach 2 to 3 m (6 ft 7 in to 9 ft 10 in) in height at maturity, with a diameter of about 2 m (6 ft 7 in). Its growth is quite rapid. Its flowering usually begins in July and lasts until October. The flowers stand out with thin pedicels each carrying five petals with undulate edges. The flowers, whose texture are reminiscent of crepe, are gathered in large dense panicles, at the tip of the same year's growth. In 'Bergerac', the flowering is of an intense and luminous red to magenta pink shade. The leaf, tough and deciduous, is dark green and shiny. It is composed of small ovate leaves, which sometimes take on beautiful yellow or red hues in autumn, depending on the climate. In addition, its beautiful bark is smooth, beige and striated with brown-red, and flakes to display cinnamon, faded red, old pink, cream marbling.

Indian myrtles are the glory of gardens. The cultivar ‘Bergerac’, which is moderately vigorous, prefers a humid and warm climate, but can also to be acclimatised in a colder area as it can also be quite hardy.  Enjoy it as a specimen shrub near the house. It will look good in a shrub bed, a flowering hedge, or emerging from a clump of perennials. Mix into a flowering bed with Campanula pyramidalis, Salvia sclarea or jamensis and Aster laevis.  It also creates a lovely display in a large pot on the patio, when other summer flowering plants are slowing down. 

NB: Karl Von Linne named this tree to honour his friend Magnus Von Lagestroem (1696 – 1759), who had sent it to him from India for identification. Originally, this tree was used to decorate Chinese temples. We would like to point out that this tree produces fruits that have are poisonous if ingested.