Masses of frothy pink flowers cover the plant like cotton candy.
Few plants brighten the southern landscape like crepe myrtles. Dwarf selections have become increasingly popular in recent years. Like many groups of plants there are some good ones and some that should be tossed on the compost pile. Lagerstroemia ‘Gamad V’, known by the terrible trade name Dazzle Me Pink, is one that I’ve been impressed with in recent years. Flowers open with bubble-gum pink petals surrounding gold stamens before fading to near white. It flowers heavily starting in mid-summer and will continue until fall especially if spent flowers are removed. ‘Gamad V’ forms a small shrub, 3′-4′ tall by 4′-5′ wide in 10 years. The multi-stemmed shrub gets great fall color in vivid shades of orange and gold. The mildew resistance is pretty good on this introduction if planted in a sunny spot with good air circulation.
Follow me at @jcramark because life is too short for boring plants.
‘Gamad V’ makes a very uniform shrub, attractive in all seasons.
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JC Raulston Arboretum 