Crape myrtle
Sources last read 14 September 2026.
Middling It gives warning, with time to act.
Also called Common Crape Myrtle, Crape Flower, crapemyrtle, crepe flower, Crepe Myrtle, Indian crape myrtle and Lilac of the South.
Toxicity is partly unassessed
What the sources say about its care
- Light
- Full sunRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Water
- Well-drainedRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Humidity
No source read publishes a humidity figure for any plant on this site. What follows is general guidance for foliage plants.
ASHRAE recommends indoor relative humidity between 30% and 60% 30–60%Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026- Temperature
How cold this tolerates, not what it prefers. No source read for this site publishes a preferred range for a plant indoors.
H3 — -5 to 1°C -5 to 1 °CRHS · read 13 September 2026- Soil
- Chalk, Loam, Sand; pH Acid or Alkaline or NeutralRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to cats
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Toxic to dogs
- Listed as non-toxicASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Harmful to people
- No statement of harm to people is published for this plant; that absence is not evidence it is safe.RHS · read 13 September 2026
How it usually goes wrong
- Crisp margins that appear in winter
The crape myrtle shows browning on many leaves at once, all at the margin, with no spots or soft patches anywhere.
The edges fail first because they are the end of the plumbing. Penn State Extension cites 30% to 60% as the recommended indoor range, and winter heating regularly takes a room under it. That applies while it is grown indoors; its RHS rating of H3 describes a plant that also grows outside, where the air is seldom that dry.
Telling it apart: Whether it crumbles or smears. Crisp is water lost; soft and dark is cold or rot.
Penn State ExtensionCrape myrtle brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Dry, bruised edges after a cold, windy spell
After a windy spell the crape myrtle shows dry brown edges and torn leaves on its exposed side. New growth that follows is undamaged if the weather settles.
RHS describes it as needing shelter. Moving air dries leaf surfaces quickly and bruises soft tissue, so a canopy in a windy spot is marked on the side the wind reaches.
Telling it apart: Timing. Damage that appeared after one windy day is weather; damage that builds slowly is water or roots.
RHSCrape myrtle brown leaf tips and edges: causes- Pale dry areas across the upper leaves only
On a crape myrtle the marks are patchy and one-sided. Leaves on the shaded side of the canopy keep their colour entirely.
Its source names full sun, so the light itself is not the fault. Foliage that formed in a dimmer room is thinner than foliage grown in sun, and the side turned suddenly to strong light bleaches before it can adjust.
Telling it apart: Whether the undersides are affected. Light damages what it reaches and nothing else.
RHSDiagnose yellowing leaves on this Crape myrtle- The canopy deflates, and lifts again within hours of a soak
The crape myrtle hangs evenly all over, and the compost has gone pale and hard. Nothing is spotted or rotten; the plant is simply short of water.
Its source describes well-drained soil. Below that the cells lose pressure, and pressure is what holds a leaf out straight.
Telling it apart: How fast it recovers. A thorough watering lifts a thirsty plant within hours; roots that are damaged do not respond.
RHSDiagnose drooping on this Crape myrtle
Not sure which it is? Ask the diagnosis questions for Crape myrtle.
Routine care
- Propagation
- Use seed or stem cuttings to propagate it.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026In spring sow seed at 10°C. Other options: in late spring, softwood cuttings; in summer, semi-ripe cuttings over bottom heat.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pruning
- Heavy pruning or topping of crape myrtle is not needed to keep its size in check. When the tree or shrub does need thinning, do it in late winter or in spring, ahead of the new growth that carries the flowers.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Pruning group 1; tolerates hard pruning when needed.RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Pests and diseases
- Can be troubled by crape myrtle pests, including crapemyrtle aphid, crapemyrtle flea beetle and crapemyrtle bark scale.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026When grown indoors, glasshouse whitefly and glasshouse red spider mite can occur. Diseases: rarely, honey fungus.RHS · read 13 September 2026
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Photographs
About the plant
Lagerstroemia indica, known as the crape myrtle, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Lagerstroemia of the family Lythraceae. It is native to East Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is an often multi-stemmed, deciduous tree with a wide spreading, flat topped, rounded, or even spike shaped open habit. The tree is a popular nesting shrub for songbirds and wrens.
From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · read 13 September 2026
- Native range
- Himalaya to S. China and Indo-ChinaWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Central Himalaya to S. China and Indo-China, Philippines, JapanNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026S & E AsiaRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Climate
- subtropicalWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- Growth form
- shrub or treeWorld Checklist of Vascular Plants, June 2026 release, CC BY.Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026Perennial, Shrub, Tree; habit dense, multi-stemmed, multi-trunked, vaseNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Bushy (deciduous)RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Size
- Height 72–360 in; width 72–360 inNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Height 4-8 metres; spread 4-8 metres after 20–50 yearsRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Flowering
- Flowers pink, purple/lavender, red/burgundy, white; blooms in summerNC State Extension · read 13 September 2026Flowers pink in summer and autumn; purple in summer and autumn; white in summer and autumnRHS · read 13 September 2026
- Uses
What sources record people using this plant for. A traditional or medicinal use listed here is a record of use, not advice to eat it or treat anything with it.
People have used crape myrtle for medical conditions, and environmentally for animal feed and fuel.NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
Common problems with Crape myrtle
More of the Lythraceae family
Plants with similar care
AvocadoDry scorched spots after a move into a sunnier spot
Chinese banyanFaded, yellow-white areas on the sunny side of the canopy
Coffee plantLeaf tips go crisp and brown
Japanese mapleDry, curled edges on leaves near a heater
Norfolk Island pineBleached patches on the side facing the glass
OliveA thin dry rim that crumbles between the fingers
Sources
- ASPCA · read 13 September 2026
- Kew WCVP · read 13 September 2026
- NC State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- Penn State Extension · read 13 September 2026
- RHS · read 13 September 2026
- Wikipedia · read 13 September 2026
What this does not cover
The figures above are what published sources say, not measurements of the plant in your room. They say nothing about your pot size, your water, the season, or how far from the glass the plant stands, and those decide more than any figure here does.
Humidity has no species figure because no source read for this site publishes one, and the only temperature published for this plant is a cold floor. The simulator fills those gaps with general figures for its kind of plant, marked as general and listed on how we read sources. Where a toxicity row says the plant was not assessed, that is the absence of a finding and not a finding of safety.
If something is already wrong, the diagnosis tool asks about the soil, the window and the watering, which is where the answer usually is.