Princess Holly Ann™ Crapemyrtle

Light Needs

Full Sun

(6+ Hours Direct Sun)

Mature Height

4 Feet

Mature Spread

4 Feet

Growing Zones

6 to 9

Princess Holly Ann™ Crapemyrtle (Lagerstroemia x ‘GA0701’ PPAF) is all about true red flower color—an uncommon payoff in compact crape myrtles. From mid-summer into fall, it throws clusters of cherry-red blooms that read clearly from a distance, not “pinkish-red.” Copper-red spring leaves add a second hit of color before they settle into a darker green summer canopy, then shift again toward purple-red in autumn. The shrub stays petite and bushy for modern landscapes and tighter patios, so you get the crape myrtle look without committing to a tree-sized plant.  

You’ll also get the classic crape myrtle perks: heat tolerance, good drought tolerance after it’s rooted in, and strong pollinator value during bloom. Princess Holly Ann™ fits mixed borders, foundation beds, and small hedges, and it can be used as a repeating accent in contemporary gardens where clean shapes matter. In cottage-style or pollinator gardens, pair it with softer textures (grasses, salvias, catmint) to make the flower color stand out. It’s deciduous, so it drops leaves for winter, but the multi-stem habit keeps it from looking bare and awkward. 

Princess Holly Ann™ Crapemyrtle Care

Choose a spot with full sun for the heaviest bloom, and aim for soil that drains well after rain. For soil pH, slightly acidic is the sweet spot (roughly 5.0–7.0); in higher-pH soils, yellowing from iron chlorosis is more likely, so a soil test is a good idea prior to planting. Set the plant so the top of the root ball sits level with the surrounding soil, then water deeply to settle soil around roots; after that, let the top few inches dry before the next soak instead of keeping it constantly wet. Feed lightly in spring as growth starts—compost or a mild, general-purpose shrub fertilizer works—then stop pushing growth by mid-to-late summer so new shoots can harden before cold weather.

After the main bloom flush, you can clip off the finished flower clusters to nudge more repeat bloom, but skip “hard haircut” pruning. For shaping, do your main cuts in late winter to early spring, taking out weak, crossing, or crowded stems and shortening only what you need for size control. If you garden near the cool edge of its range, hold off on fall pruning; late-season cuts can encourage tender growth that gets zapped. 

Princess Holly Ann™ Crapemyrtle Spacing

Give each plant about 4 feet of elbow room if you want rounded, individual shrubs, or tighten to about 3–4 feet on center for a low, flowering hedge effect. 

For containers, treat Princess Holly Ann™ as the anchor plant: one shrub per pot is usually the right call. Use a substantial container (about 18–24 inches wide, with real depth) and a potting mix built for shrubs (fast drainage, not soggy).

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