Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle

Light Needs

Full Sun

(At Least 6 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

3-4 Feet

Mature Spread

3-4 Feet

Growing Zones

5 to 9

Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle delivers concentrated color in a compact package, covering itself in saturated lavender-purple flower clusters from summer into fall. It grows only about 3–4 feet tall and wide, so it fits beside foundations, along walks, and in patio containers without becoming a tree. Botanically known as Lagerstroemia indica 'Congrabel', this Bellini® selection was bred for compact growth, earlier bloom, and powdery mildew resistance. We recommend it for customers who love crape myrtle flowers but need a plant that stays below windows and railings.

This deciduous shrub blooms from midsummer into early fall, luring pollinators into hot sunny beds when many spring shrubs are finished. The green foliage gives the purple flower clusters a clean backdrop, and the plant’s mounded habit works well repeated as a short hedge. Once established, it handles heat, urban conditions, and periods of dry weather with less attention than many flowering shrubs. Use it at the front of a sunny shrub border, in a series along a driveway, or as a jewel-toned anchor near a porch.

Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle Care

Plant Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle in full sun for the strongest flowering, with at least 6 hours of direct light each day. It grows in clay, loam, sandy, or silt soils as long as the planting site drains well. Crape myrtles prefer acidic to slightly acidic soil, roughly pH 5.0–6.5.

Water deeply and regularly during the first growing season so the roots settle into the surrounding soil. After establishment, water during extended dry spells when the soil is dry several inches down or the newest growth looks limp in late-day heat. Feed before new growth begins in spring for a strong start. This shrub is deciduous and will drop its leaves and rest through winter.

Remove faded flower clusters during the season to encourage additional bloom. In late winter or early spring, lightly shorten long stems if the plant needs shaping, keeping the cut pattern rounded rather than flat across the top. Remove suckers from the base as they appear so the plant keeps its dense shrub form.

Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle Spacing

Space Bellini® Grape Crape Myrtle 3 feet apart for a low hedge, or 5–6 feet apart when each shrub should stand separately. For containers, use a pot at least 18 inches wide with drainage holes and a quality potting mix that drains freely. Plant Bellini® Grape with Indian hawthorn for evergreen structure in the landscape. Include daylilies for summer foliage and flowers, and liriope for a tidy edge below the shrub. In containers, use cuphea for pollinator activity and alyssum to spill lightly around the rim.

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