Lagerstroemia indica Eveline - Crape Myrtle

The Lagestroemia indica 'Eveline' is a variety of Indian Lilac that is interesting for its resistance to cold, its small size, but also for its long and generous pastel pink summer flowering. It flowers from the beginning of July, in the form of large foamy clusters of flowers that recall those of lilac. Summer Lilacs are also appreciated for their smooth bark, richly coloured, ornamental all year round and their beautiful autumn colours. These bushes like heat but appreciate a bit of coolness in the summer to support their flowering. This one will make a sensation isolated in a small garden or in a pretty pot on the terrace.

The Indian Lilac 'Eveline', selected in Belgium, was recently rewarded in the Netherlands. This deciduous bush belongs to the Lythraceae family, like its ancestor the Lagerstroemia indica, native to China. This variety presents a bushy and ramified habit from the base, with a rounded crown, a bit spread out. It will reach on average 2 m (6 ft 7 in) in height at 10 years, for a diameter of 1.20 m. Its growth is quite rapid. It chooses the beginning of July to start its flowering, which will continue until September. The large inflorescences are compound by thin pedicels each carrying five petals with a very undulate edge, whose texture recalls that of a crepe. They are gathered in large, dense panicles, at the end of this year's branches.

In 'Eveline', the pedicels and floral buds are purple, then they bloom widely in tender pink. The foliage, leathery and deciduous, is born bronze-red, then becomes dark green and shiny. It is composed of small ovate leaves, which often take on pretty orange or coppery shades in the autumn before falling, depending on the climate. Finally, its bark is decorative, smooth, beige, striated with grey, red-brown, peeling off in coloured plates (cinnamon, faded red, old pink, cream).

Preferring the humid and warm South Atlantic to the dry and windy Mediterranean, it is a small tree that deserves to be acclimated in the colder areas of our region, carefully choosing the variety and its location. Its hardiness and vigour allow it. It is in isolation, near the house, that you will be able to fully enjoy its generosity. It will look good in a bush bed, a flowering hedge, or emerging from a mound of perennials. Compose a bed like a bouquet, with Nepeta, Salvia sclarea or jamensis, Aster laevis. In autumn, it accompanies the Cotinus and the deciduous spindle trees, as colourful as it is. In a large pot on the terrace, it puts on a show as the summer flowers start to fade. 

NB: Karl Von Linne named this tree in honour of 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 a narcotic action in case of ingestion.