Lagerstroemia indica Black Solitaire Crimson Red - Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica Black Solitaire (Black Diamond) 'Crimson Red' is a recent variety of Indian Myrtles from the astonishing BLACK SOLITAIRE series. These varieties have very dark foliage, with early and long-lasting flowers and are more resistant to powdery mildew.  'Crimson Red' displays clusters of frothy flowers in a brilliant carmine red colour, forming a magnificent contrast with its almost black foliage. They bloom at the height of summer, on a modestly sized bush, well adapted to small gardens and pots. Summer Myrtles are also appreciated for their richly coloured bark, ornamental all year round. This one, quite hardy, is easy to grow in any well-drained soil, in the sun. 

Lagerstroemia indica 'Crimson Red' is part of a series of hybrids carefully selected in Texas from the 'EBONY' varieties, characterised by very dark foliage.  Not exceeding 3 m (9 ft 10 in) in height, these Indian myrtles also stand out for their fairly quick growth and a good tolerance to fairly dry soils. 

'Crimson Red' belongs to the Lythraceae family, just like the Lagerstroemia indica, from which it derives. The latter is native to China. Lagerstroemia indica is native to China. This shrub presents a bushy and branched habit from the base, with a slightly erect crown. It will reach on average 2.5 m (8 ft 2 in) in height at maturity, with a diameter of 2 m. Its growth is quite rapid. Depending on the climate, it chooses the end of July to start flowering, which will continue until September. The inflorescences are compound by thin pedicels each bearing five petals with a very undulate edge, the texture of which look like that of crepe. They are gathered in dense panicles, at the end of this year's branches.

In 'Crimson Red', the pedicels and flower buds are a dark purple-brown, then they bloom widely in pure red. The centre of the flowers is enhanced by fine golden yellow stamens. The foliage, leathery and deciduous, keeps its burgundy-chocolate-violet almost black colour from spring to summer, then takes on purplish reflections in autumn, before falling. It is made up of small slightly undulated ovate leaves. Finally, and to complete its beauty, 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. Preferring the humid and warm climate, it is a small tree that 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. In autumn, it works well with Cotinus and deciduous spindle trees, with all their colour. It also creates a lovely display in a large pot on the patio, when other summer flowering plants are slowing down. Display this plant, Lagerstroemia indica Black Solitaire (Black Diamond) Crimson Red with a wonderful planting tapestry of groundcover with thymes, oreganos and other silver creeping plants weaving like a tapestry around the base of its trunk, highlighting its bark and reflecting the beauty of its bark, its black foliage and its pastel flowering. 

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.