Crape Myrtle Trees, Delivered and Planted in SW Florida

Crape myrtle does well in Southwest Florida as a fast-growing flowering tree, with crinkled blooms from late spring through summer. It wants full sun, takes sandy soil and heat in stride, and stays manageable if you pick a cultivar that fits the space. We deliver it, plant it at the right depth, water it in and clean up.

Light:: Full sun, at least 6 hours of direct sun
Water:: Regular until established, then low to moderate
Salt:: Moderate; fine back from open water, not in direct spray

Text Me a Planted Price Call (239) 799-5594

Crape Myrtle sizes we deliver and plant

Every size below is planted by our crew, set at the right depth and watered in. Send the size and how many, and we text back a planted price, usually within the hour during the day.

Plant	Sizes
Crape Myrtle	3 Gallon

Crape Myrtle in SW Florida, at a glance

Mature size here: 6 to 25 ft tall depending on cultivar, 5 to 15 ft wide
Light: Full sun, at least 6 hours of direct sun
Water: Regular until established, then low to moderate
Salt tolerance: Moderate; fine back from open water, not in direct spray
Cold tolerance: Hardy well below SW Florida lows; leaves drop for part of the winter
Growth rate: Fast
Spacing: 10 to 20 ft apart for tree-size cultivars, 4 to 6 ft for dwarf types
Florida native: No, native to Asia
Botanical name: Lagerstroemia indica

Where Crape Myrtle works in a SW Florida yard

Crape myrtle works as a front-yard focal tree, a staggered row along a driveway, or a bloom-heavy anchor at the corner of a sunny bed. It likes the open sun most SW Florida lots have, and its smooth, peeling bark looks good through the short winter when the leaves drop.

Keep medium and tall cultivars 10 to 15 ft from the house and away from the pool deck, since petals and seed capsules fall. Underplant with liriope or blue daze, and put plumbago or bottlebrush nearby for a layered summer border.

Summer-blooming focal tree
Front yard specimen
Driveway and street lines
Fence-line row

How our crew plants it

Start with a hole two to three times as wide as the root ball and no deeper. Our crew sets the top of the root ball an inch above the surrounding sand so it settles level, backfills with native soil, waters it in and cleans up. A 3 gallon crape myrtle is small at planting but grows fast, so staking is only needed in a windy spot.

Mulch 2 to 3 inches deep, pulled back from the trunk. Under Lee and Collier rules, new plantings get extra watering beyond the usual your assigned days.

Care after planting

Water new trees deeply and often while roots establish, using the extra watering allowed for new plantings in Lee and Collier, then move to your assigned watering days.
Prune in late winter only to thin crossing branches and remove spent flower heads; cutting main limbs back to stubs ruins the shape and sends up weak sprouts.
Feed lightly in spring and again in early fall with a slow-release landscape fertilizer; the Lee County, Naples and Marco Island ban on nitrogen and phosphorus runs June 1 to September 30.
Too much nitrogen gives you leaves instead of blooms, so go easy on fertilizer and keep it away from the trunk.
Pull or cut root suckers at the base whenever they appear.

What to watch for

Aphids and crape myrtle bark scale leave sticky honeydew and black sooty mold on leaves and bark, which looks bad but is treatable when caught early.
Powdery mildew and wet-season leaf spot show up in humid spells, mostly on susceptible cultivars; good airflow and full sun keep them in check.

Crape Myrtle questions we hear

Do crape myrtles grow well in Southwest Florida?+

Yes. They like full sun, heat and sandy soil, and they bloom from late spring into summer. They drop leaves for part of the winter, then leaf out again in spring. The main thing to avoid is a spot that stays wet all summer.

How big do crape myrtles get?+

It depends on the cultivar. Dwarf types stay around 6 ft, while tree-size cultivars reach 20 to 25 ft with a broad crown. Choose the mature size before you choose the color, because pruning a big cultivar to fit a small space is a losing battle.

When do crape myrtles bloom in Florida?+

Most bloom from late spring through summer, and some cultivars repeat into early fall, especially if you snip off the spent flower clusters. Color depends on the cultivar and runs from white through pink, red and lavender. Plants in shade bloom much less.

Can crape myrtles handle salt spray near the coast or a canal?+

They have moderate salt tolerance, so a yard a block or two back from open water is fine. Right on a canal or beachfront, direct salt spray can burn leaves and slow growth. In that zone, put a tougher salt-tolerant plant in front and let the crape myrtle sit behind it.

Should I cut my crape myrtle back hard every winter?+

No. Hard topping, sometimes called crape murder, leaves ugly knuckles and weak sprouts that flop or snap in summer storms. Prune in late winter only to thin crossing branches, lift low limbs and remove spent flower heads. Take out suckers at the base any time.

How much does it cost to have a crape myrtle planted?+

We price each job by text, because the cost swings with the tree size, the cultivar and how many you want. Send us the spot and the count and you will usually hear back within the hour during the day. Half down holds the trees and a delivery day.

Updated October 2026