Twilight Purple Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia Indica ‘Twilight’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub or Tree

Height at Maturity: 15-25′

Width at Maturity: 12-15′
Spacing: 10-12′ for solid warm season privacy screen; 25’+ for space between trees

Growth Habit / Form: Bushy, Rounded, Upright, Tall

Growth Rate: Fast

Flower Color: Bright Purple

Flowering Period: All Summer – up to 120 days!

Flower Type: Single flowers in large rounded to elongated clusters

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Rich Green, Bronze new growth
Fall Foliage Color: Yellow, Burgundy, Orange

Fragrant Foliage: No

Bark Color: Grey, Pink, Reddish-Brown

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun

Water Needs: Average, low when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt

Soil Drainage: Well Drained

Soil pH: 5.0 – 6.5

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention, Butterflies, Hummingbirds, Birds

Resistances: Deer – more info, Disease, Moderate Drought, Heat

Description

When it comes to flowering trees, there’s simply no others more showy than Crape Myrtles. They bloom for up to 100 days during summer, when there are few other trees and shrubs providing that service in the landscape. Colorful fall foliage and attractive exfoliating bark in winter enhance their overall appeal. It’s no wonder they are so wildly popular among designers and gardeners!

Wow! A year-round color factory, Twilight is one of just a few Crape Myrtle trees with TRUE purple flowers. A plethora of vibrant purple flower clusters appear in early summer and continue through early fall, nearly covering the foliage. The leaves of Twilight emerge in spring displaying a wonderful bronze color turning to a rich green as they mature. Fall brings forth a brilliant show of color including bright yellow, burgundy, and orange leaves. If that’s not enough to please, the smooth gray bark peels off in summer giving way to a light pink bark that darkens to a reddish-brown coloring.

Note: As with most other Crape Myrtle varieties, the flower color of Twilight Purple can vary slightly, ranging from shades of purple when buds open on a sunny day to shades of pinkish to fuchsia-purple when flower buds open on a cloudy day. Too, flower color can change as they age.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing upright to 15 to 25 feet tall and 12 to 15 feet wide, the Twilight Purple Crape Myrtle is ideal for use as a specimen, in groupings, or in straight or staggered rows to form a screen or delineate a property line or line a driveway. Also a fine selection for use in home foundation plantings to frame corners or as an accent tree. A fine addition to purple theme gardens and bird gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 10 to 12 feet apart for warm season privacy screen; 25 feet or more apart for space between trees

Growing Preferences

Twilight Purple Crape Myrtle is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and full to mostly sun. Light shade is tolerated but flowering will be diminished in more shade. Has shown excellent resistance to powdery mildew and is quite drought tolerant when established. Benefits from pruning when young to form a more dense canopy that produces even more flowers. Learn how to prune the right way here: How To Prune A Crape Myrtle Tree

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Crape Myrtle trees.

How To Plant A Crape Myrtle In The Ground Or In A Pot

How To Prune a Crape Myrtle Tree the Right Way

How To Fertilize & Water A Crape Myrtle

How To Prune a Dwarf Crape Myrtle

Choosing the Right Crape Myrtle

Plant Long & Prosper!

Meet The Wilson Brothers & Staff

Questions? Contact Us!

Great shape when it arrived. I love it. Can’t wait for the blooms.————————————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and wonderful review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

My crepe myrtle arrived in early February. It appears very healthy and strong and I’m looking forward to it blooming the first year because of it’s size. I appreciated the free shipping since it came across the country.————————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I was quite impressed by the size and quality of the plant and the packing & shipping method. It even arrived with large buds that started to bloom soon after it was put in the ground. This was by far the best mail-order experience of buying plants I’ve had,—————————————We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the kind words and awesome review! Beth | WBG 🙂

Bought one of these earlier this year and it arrived pretty small and scrawny but man has it thrived.—————————————-Thanks so much for the photo! We are so glad you are pleased with your purchase! Thanks for the great review! Beth | WBG 🙂

This order, like every other order with Wilson Brothers, was fantastic. Large, full, healthy shrubs. Incredibly packaged and well watered. Delivered during heat wave. You comply cannot go wrong with these guys. I’ve been ordering plants online for almost 25 years now and they’re one of the absolute best!————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

Great company who puts a lot of TLC into the packaging and delivery of their plants. The plant was more than expected and is doing well planted in my yard. Can’t wait for the blooms.———————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I was very impressed how my tree came packaged. The tree was very secure and fresh. I can’t wait to see this tree blossom for many years to come. I will definitely buy from Wilson Brothers again. Superb service——————————————–
We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

I hesitated to order sight-unseen but the tree arrived quickly and was well packed. We’ve hit a delay (HOA review…grrrn) so we haven’t planted it yet. We’ve been watering, though, and can tell it has grown! Very healthy plant and we saved $33 by NOT buying locally and paying $25 delivery fee! We were so happy with this purchase that we ordered three azaleas from Wilson Bros., which arrived within two days. They look wonderful, too, and we can’t wait to plant. Now if I just had a bigger yard…——————————–Thanks for the great review! We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG

Purchased this crape myrtle from Wilson Bros along with several others – they are varieties that we cannot find locally. We were nervous about ordering online and sight unseen, but they arrived quickly, in pots, packed very well and in excellent shape. Looking forward to when they start blooming! We will be ordering more plants from Wilson Bros. in the future.————————-We are so glad you are pleased! Beth | WBG

We got a Twilight Purple crape myrtle from you earlier this year and love it! It bloomed right away and is surviving the heat very well. It had to sit in its original pot for a month or more until the landscape folks could get here and redo the flower bed. As we had hoped, the crape myrtle is now the cornerstone of our new arrangement. Many thanks for a quality product and quality training for those folks who pack and ship. Our tree arrived in amazingly well done packaging. Not everyone does such a fabulous job. ————— WBG Reply: Hi Lynn – Thanks so much for your review of the Twilight Purple Crape Myrtle and for your compliments! It makes everything we do even more worth the while. Glad to hear it bloomed right away and is serving a great purpose in your garden. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

Bought it in late April and it was delivered in great shape. Well packaged and still moist soil. I waited a week to plant. It has taken off in the last 3 months. Lots of blooms and growing. Definitely a very healthy and pretty tree. ————————– WBG Reply: Hi Richard – Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Twilight Crape Myrtle and for the compliments! Glad to hear it’s growing well and blooming nicely since planting and hope you enjoy this magnificent tree for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service. – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

This Tree is EXACTLY what I was hoping for and more. I have ordered trees from another company and they can’t compare to this tree. Better than I expected worth every dollar. ——————- WBG Reply: Hi Toney – Thanks so much for your review of the Twilight Crape Myrtle and all the compliments. It makes everything we do even more worth the while. Hope you enjoy this spectacular crape myrtle for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

I ordered this crape myrtle for my mom for mothers day. It arrived a little small in height but healthy. I do know it will grow pretty fast. Mom loves the color purple so I know she will enjoy this crape myrtle for years to come. ——————— WBG Reply: Hi Amy – Thanks for taking the time to provide your review of the Twilight Crape Myrtle you purchased from us. Crape myrtles were late to flush out this year so were a little smaller than they normally would be this time of year. Too, we prune them annually in later winter so this reduces the height. Once your moms tree flushes out it will grow quickly and be a foot or two taller by summer. Hope your mom enjoys this magnificent crape myrtle for years to come. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can do for you. We’re at your service!
Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

Plant arrived on time and in perfect condition. It was well packed and not one single leaf was out of place. It transplanted without a hint of shock and I think we have new leaves starting! Now, I must be patient and wait for blooms. We have redone our front flower bed and this crepe myrtle is the foundation around which we worked. We could not be happier with the tree we received. Thank you. —————– WBG Reply: Hi Johnny – Thanks so much for your review of the Twilight Crape Myrtle you purchased from us and for the compliments! We hope you enjoy this magnificent tree for years to come. You should see some blooms on it this summer. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens

Crape myrtles arrived just like if i bought them at a nursery! No wilting, no leave burns and no damage from shipping!! Beautiful purple flowers, yes even had flowers during shipping. Wilsonbrosgardens.com is now my go to nursery!! Thanks ———— WBG Reply: Hi Glen – Twilight Crape Myrtle is definitely a Purple Beauty! Glad to hear it arrived safely and that you got to see some flowers. Let us know if there’s ever anything else we can help you with. We’re at your service! – Brent | Wilson Bros Gardens