I have high accolades for the Tuscarora Crape Myrtle.

Tuscarora has a broad vase shape and is highly mildew resistant, having exfoliating bark and red/orange fall leaf color.

It does take about 3 years to get established enough to produce its best, most lush flower display. But it is a carefree, long-flowering, heavy flower producer.

We planted 18 Tuscaroras along our driveway, behind a shorter growing evergreen hedge.

Tuscarora makes a wonderful screen, at 18-25 feet tall, and an eye-catching display starting in mid-July here, blooming until fall.

I have found conflicting reports on their hardiness zones, however. Some sources report hardiness Zones 6-9, where others state Zones 7A-9.

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Tuscarora Crepe Myrtle is a stunner! The blooms are absolutely vibrant. The Tuscarora has tan, heavily exfoliating bark, which reveals a slightly deeper shade of trunk underneath. The bloom period for this Crepe Myrtle runs about 70 days, starting in early July. It puts on a show, too, with heavy bloom where the panicles are 8 inches wide by 12 inches long. Tuscarora sports an upright vase shape and has a slightly slower growth rate than many varieties, but its spectacular floral display makes up for the slower growth rate.
Tuscarora is one of the cultivars developed by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture National Arboretum, and as such has outstanding mildew resistance. The Arboretum introduced it in 1981.
This cultivar is a great choice for limited spaces because of its growth habit.

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