Hopi Crape Myrtle

Botanical Name: Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei “Hopi”
Common Name: Crape Myrtle “Hopi”
Plant Type: Shrub or small tree, semi-dwarf
Light Requirements: Full Sun
Zone: 6-9
Growth Rate: Fast
Height X Spread: 10' H x 10' W
Bloom Time: Summer - fall
Bloom Description:   Clusters of pink blooms
Foliage Description:  Dark green glossy leaves in summer, orange red in fall
Soil: Average, well-drained
Water: Regular, drought tolerant
Prune: Late winter
Tidy:  Deadhead
Fertilizer: General purpose or Holly Tone
Fertilizing cycle: Feed before new growth begins in spring
Special Maintenance: None
Propagation: Semi-hardwood cuttings taken during growing season
Pests & Diseases: Disease resistant

Notes:  Hopi can be planted in groups or as an individual specimen. Blooms start in mid July and fade into seed capsules in the fall when the leaves take on an outstanding orange red color. Deadhead to encourage a second bloom.   Hopi can be kept as a shrub with yearly pruning or allowed to grow to its full height as a specimen tree.

Prune any time during the late winter before new growth begins.  Avoid fall pruning which can encourage new growth and keep the plant from going dormant.  To maintain as a shrub, prune back to about ½ its size. Hopi can tolerate a hard pruning.

To develop as a tree, choose three to five shoots growing from ground level as the main trunks, and remove the remaining shoots.  Remove the side branches from the main trunks about halfway up their height.