Has anybody used Pink Velour Crape Myrtles?

I have two of these that I got from Lowes about a year ago. For while, they've been thickening up in a raised bed, and I have to say that I am growing fond of them. The foliage is pretty stunning; starting off deep red and slowly turning purplish green. The bark seems like it may have exfoliating tendencies, although it's hard to tell just yet.

I'm curious, has anybody else worked with them? If so, what were your experiences?

I have about 15 crape myrtle bonsai now and am coming to think they are one of the finest trees around for bonsai -- whether you let them bloom or not.  I haven't used this one, but see no reason why it would be any different. 

Their bark does exfoliate every summer; some varieties with maroon bark are quite spectacular.  Leaf color is nice in the spring and gorgeous in the fall.  You have to let it grow quite unkempt to bloom and since most of my trees are quite small, I seldom do that, but the flowers are nice.  I generally rely on those in the garden for blooms, though.

JimLewis wrote:I have about 15 crape myrtle bonsai now and am coming to think they are one of the finest trees around for bonsai -- whether you let them bloom or not.  I haven't used this one, but see no reason why it would be any different. 

Their bark does exfoliate every summer; some varieties with maroon bark are quite spectacular.  Leaf color is nice in the spring and gorgeous in the fall.  You have to let it grow quite unkempt to bloom and since most of my trees are quite small, I seldom do that, but the flowers are nice.  I generally rely on those in the garden for blooms, though.

Yeah, I can understand why getting a small crape to bloom would be difficult. Mine are just starting to flower, and 5 months of unrestricted growth on a crape myrtle seems like too much, unless your just thickening something up. There are some Crape Myrtles which really do have stunning bark and foliage. They stand out on there own, even without flowers. I'll try to post a picture later.

Sorry it's taken me a little while to get some pictures. It seemed like every time I had a chance it would start raining.  Anyway, here are some pictures that show the interesting qualities of this tree.

As you can see, the new foliage starts off as red, but changes to green over time. However, the tips, edges and veins of the leaves stay tinged red. Over time, they will hopefully turn a dark green, to purple-ish color.


And here's a picture of the bark. It's not the best, but you can make out some of the qualities. I hope it retains the orange-brown color and develops some exfoliating tendencies, but who knows.


I hope it will develop into something interesting as time goes by.

If this tree eventually becomes bonsai, I'm not sure it will have the chance to flower. However, I'll enjoy the blossoms as long as this tree is growing freely.