@cmdviola,
This past winter was hard on three of my five Muskogees, the ones that are situated in an open, windy garden. They are alive, but just barely. Most of the top growth, which is probably 12 ft. tall, died, although there are vigorous shoots growing from the roots. The two nearer the house (both grown as trees) came through without problems.
My four Pink Velours came through winter with no problems. The PV shown in the photo with the house in the background is about 12 ft. tall, grows next to the road, and is happy there. It grows as a tree (via limbing it up), rather than a shrub. I think that is the reason it is that tall. But you can see through the multiple trunks because they are thinner than a regular tree trunk.
Several years ago I lost a new PV after a cold winter, and experienced dieback of top growth on another. But the street tree never had problems.
To get crape myrtles through the winter, you can surround (insulate) the lower part with leaves stuffed in a temporary wire fence. In spring, you can fertilize the plant in early spring. That can make the difference between survival and death after a bad winter.
I tried to grow Hopi three times and failed. It is a hot pink like bubblegum.
The hard part for me is knowing that a bad winter has occurred because there are many factors, such as soil moisture and extreme fluctuations in temperature, that impact the situation.
It is worth trying in my opinion!
