My Dynamites that I planted last summer did very well over the winter even though they were not well established yet.

I love the watermellon color of the Tuscarora (sp?) Cm. Only problem is that they do suffer winter kill when they are young and have fairly thin trunks. I have a friend where we planted a 9 foot tall Tuscarora in a featured front yard bed at her house. That was almost 4 years ago. The trunks were almost an inch thick and they have not had any winter kill with this 3 trunked tree. Their tree is ringed with white New Dawn climbing roses that they just keep pruned to stay in bounds within an outer ring of dwarf yaupon Holly shrubs.

In the late spring through fall the display of this white blooms covered base and the watermellon red CM blooms above, is stunning. Then the look changes to even more interest and beauty when the cm's red bloom petals begin to fall and land on the white bloom covered rose canes which are kept pruned to not climb the tree but instead simply to circle the lower third of the tree's trunks.

Can I just say that I love Frank?! This has been great entertainment for me this afternoon! I purchased a Dynamite CM this spring and it is now blooming. I notice yellow buds in the middle of the red blooms, is this normal for a Dynamite? Also, I hope i didn't plant it too close to our back deck...it is only 2 feet from the stairs-wonder if the branches will eventually be hanging over the stairs making us 'duck' as we use the stairs. I just did not want to plant it out in the middle of the yard. Frank, I think you should take a picture of that CM you saw in that yard of the grumpy man-so funny! Some people don't get us tree lovers!!

How about the Tonto?

Two feet from your stairs? Are you bonsai-ing it or something?

I just found a Dynamite at Lowe's. It does show one or two white flowers amongst the deep blood red but these are not noticeable from a distance. Stunning, stunning tree.

I live on a corner and I put it in the backyard where it will be visible from the road. If I hear the sound of screeching brakes I'll know what it is.

I have a Red Rocket that is about 7 years old ... I love the colour. I noticed a few white blooms amidst the really red and last summer it showed some of what I assume was the mildew folks talk about above.
However, when it started pushing growth this spring I saw that there was a tremendous amount of dead wood at the branch ends ... up to 2 or 3 feet. (We had unusually cold periods last winter followed by a really wet spring).
I cut it back and got tremendous blooms.
BUT I ALSO GOT A LOT OF WHAT I PRESUME IS POWERDY MILDEW ALL OVER IT.
I'm wondering if I should prune the spent blooms now or wait and see if I get die-back next year.
I live east of Washington DC.

I've spent an absurd amount of time searching for the deep red, no-hint-of-pink/magenta crape myrtles that you're talking about. i wrote to one internet nursery that responded their deepest red was dynamite, not arapahoe. dynamite grows taller, arapahoe grows faster. i also specifically asked about siren, because from what i see and hear it "appears" to be the deepest, but i want the big tree and it only grows to 12 ft. Please tell us if you find one! Here are some links I've found:

http://www.tytyga.com/product/Dynamite+Crape+Myrtle+Tree (don't order from these people though! I've had a terrible time with these people, they are rude and un-helpful.)

http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/hot_topics/lawn_and_garden/new_red_crape_myrtles.html

http://www.fast-growing-thttp://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Dynamite.htmrees.com/SirenRed.htm

http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/page.cfm/29762

http://ezinearticles.com/?Crape-Myrtle-Dynamite-(PP-10296)&id=278857

The link at Fast Growing Trees is where I wrote and asked about the colors, and that is where i got the answer i mentioned above. i am thinking that i just need to wait to see the dam things bloom and purchase them while blooming, but i live in atlanta and it will be too hot i think to plant them then. i've also heard/read in several places that dynamite will be darker red the second year.

My dynamite CM is true, deep red with NO pink at all!

I just purchased a Dynamite to plant about 20 ft from my Arapaho. Does anyone think that they will clash? I hate planting it before blooming!

I would move it to the backyard or something and plant the Dynamite. I just recently planted 3 Dynamites. I searched long and hard at Lowe's and Homedepot and couldn't find the right variety.
Don't be suckered in to the CM labled red ( not the same). I bought my 3 (1gallon) babies from a local nursery Humming Bird Gardens. I saw them in bloom and I was like WOW!! I finally found ya!!! I paid 15 dollars each. Looking foward to next years blooms:)

My Dynamite has fat round buds all over it. This year's show is about to start.

When it first leafed out this year the foliage was dark red like that ornamental plum. That was a pleasant surprise!

All the CM's should be in full bloom now. Which varieties do you feel have the deepest, truest red?

I have 2 white ones and a lilac one and I too am seeking a deep, red one for the front yard.

Maire

My dynamite is red, red. If it were darker it wouldn't be red.

I walked under a crape today that was a deep wine red with rusty and green bark. A real traffic stopper. It smelled good too! I did not know there was a perfumy crape. I would love to know the cultivar.

Read all the posts last year and bought Red Rocket, Dynamite and Siren Red mature trees each of 30 gl size and plated next to one another in late winter this year under Texas full sun. The comparisons I had were based on the first-round full blooms: 1, Red Rocket has the most bright red color with sticking effect. It really stood out and best be appreciated from distance like 30 feet away looking at the tree as a whole. If someone was telling me my tree is on fire, I knew he was not exaggerating too much. 2, Dynamite has the deepest red almost having a hint of black in it and the greater the distance, the darker it looked. Dynamite darker red might be less of a color excitement, yet I felt the color heaviness and I knew this was truly deep dark red. 3, Siren Red somehow had a fix of purple in it. It is red, but looked a little artificial. Again, above observations were based on the first-round full blooms. However, later on the blooms, all 3 trees had a little color verifications. To a degree, I could find the same red color in all 3 trees and each tree had different level of redness. As of this writing, it is still the case. My comments on true red CMs are go with Red Rocket if you like it to be exciting red and go with Dynamite for its heavy dark red. Or better have both.

I found Red Rocket today and brought it home. Up close the flowers are cherry red. From a distance they have a slight purple tinge. I think it's the same kind I was drooling over last week!

It's going in the front yard on the corner (I live on a corner). So yummy looking!

i would like to move several is now a good time ? late aug early sept ?

Considering purchasing a Tonto or Siren Red for my front yard. I would like a tree, not a shrub. Does anyone have a mature Tonto or Siren Red? Do they grow to 10 or 12 feet?

I have a red rocket in my back yard (and a Natchez white & unknown pink in the front). I really like its red color. My daughter just moved into a new development & wants a crepe since she had one in her old house. She saw my Red Rocket blooming yesterday & said, "That's the one I want, Dad." So, of course, being the doting father, Im looking for one now. Hard to find nearby (Gloucester-Camden Counties in South Jersey). I did see Dynamite, but I didnt find it to be as nice a red as Red Rocket. Im glad some on here found this to be true also.

Hello Friends:

I originally asked this question way back in 2008. I'm effdeevee.

To make a long, boring story short, I found a 10 foot tall, 20 gallon single-stem standard, "DYNAMITE" at a great price, so, ... I bought the tree, and had it shipped to me.

The tree is doing fine, and it puts on quite a show each summer, but, the flower color is a BIG disappointment!!!!!

If the sun ducks behind a cloud for more than 15 minutes the flowers fade to deep, rose-pink, and, God forbid if the weather goes cloudy for a few days, the opening buds bloom white, ... giving the tree a two-toned effect. I hate the way the flowers are so unstable! Bad genetics!

I also have a smaller "ARAPAHO" in the same area, and for my money, it's a much better variety, and, the color is just about the same as the fickle, "DYNAMITE" I think the hype about "DYNAMITE" is just another big crock ... lousy bloom color, leaves mildew if it rains too long, and worse, not anywhere near "true red" by my standards.

Before I totally condemn this variety, maybe my area is not the optimum climate for this tree. It certainly hasn't performed to my expectations at all.

I will probably be replaced.

Best regards,

effdeevee/BronxFigs

Don't ever buy from fast-growing-trees.com.

We ordered a 4-6ft an Arapaho from them for about 100$ last December 2011. What they sent this March 2012 was a twig about 3.5ft tall. We planted it. The tree has a few leaves now but not showing any sign of growing. Never mind fast growing.

Such a rip-off!

Hi. If you were really, really concerned about a specific hue, Crepe Myrtle may not be the best flowering tree/shrub. As you know, they need full, bright sun to bloom to potential and proper PH. The most true to design + spectacular ones down here in the deep south are (in my opinion) in highway medians in cities like Houston or along some streets in Savannah. Sun + Hot + Wet (well the wet can come and go really, they can take it).

Be glad you have a healthy one and enjoy the long lasting blooms no matter what hue they are! And don't curse the clouds, they may leave you high and dry ;-)

I have both the Red Rocket and Dynamite in my yard. I love the red color of both but I think I like the red of Red Rocket best. I think the Red Rocket has the most beautiful red color of any myrtle I've seen.

My Dynamite, Red Rocket and Siren Red continue doing very well this year. So much red color in my yard, it was really special. Recently, I found Calloway and Home Deport were selling a new red myrtle called Black Diamond. They were all 1.5 feet only, as they are so new and I did not see anyone has it yet. I bought 6, due to its deep purple leaves and deep red flowers. Nothing like that I have seen. Unlike Dynamite, Red Rocket and a few others being similar in many ways, Black Diamond is different and it seems selling fast. I put them in ground already, lining up along my drive way. Will post next year to share with you how they are doing.

Agree that Dynamite is the best for a deep blood red color. They do not grow as fast as some of the others though...

I will have to keep my eyes peeled for 'Black Diamond'.

My Red Rockets and Dynamites are doing great this year, Lotsa fantastic red flowers.

I think Dynamite does have larger heads than Red Rooster but it is a dark red while R.R. seems to be a fire engine red.

I have both Dynamite and Red Rocket. Here is the Red Rocket, It's almost a cherry red

I got Black Diamond Hot Red last year at Home Depot. It was more of a salmon color until it had been in the ground for a week or so. Then it turned a superb chili pepper red that I was very pleased with. The spot is very sunny against a West facing wall.

@aquilachrysaetos, can you tell me how long your Black Diamond Red Hot bloomed for?

Also, anyone with a Siren Red or Cheyenne, can you tell me how long they bloomed for and how dense were the blooms?

Thanks

I have Siren Red. They started blooming about the beginning of June and are still going strong. I'm in southern New Mexico.

One of my 'Dynamite'.

'Siren Red' looks really nice. I have not seen it for sale around here, but I don't have room for more right now anyway.

Regarding the blooming duration, it really seems to depend on the weather in my opinion. My 'Dwarf Hopi' was stunning last year, through October and beyond! This year, with drought, it looks like it's already shutting down for the season. My Dynamite, Zuni, and Catawba (in a cooler location), still look decent.

LOL, I think Black Diamond was being sold at all the big box stores last year! This year, did not see them. I also planted one last year but not taking off yet.

P.S., I also have no more room for more.

Seeing Black Diamond at Lowes here in NC and in a couple nurserys. I bought 2 red.

I just saw 'Red Rooster' Crepes at HD. I thought the red on my 'Dynamites' are more red (less pinkish tones).

@Subtropix, or anyone else, can you tell me between your Zuni and Catawba, which one is the darker purple? It's hard to tell from the pictures on the internet. And do they both bloom for about the same time? One of the websites I found said the Zuni blooms for about a month longer.

@Aaron Gottlieb My Red Hot seemed to bloom as long as it was hot. It's still smallish so it's not prolific yet.

Aaron, Catawba is grape purple; Zuni is NOT purple, it's more deep magenta.

I am not sure about blooming TIME; I kinda think it depends more on exposure, pruning practices, WEATHER, and microclimate factors.

Last year, my Dwarf Hopi (a medium pink), bloomed forever! It bloomed from about May till into November (next to a south-facing wall), this year was so hot and droughty, it looks like it's done for the season. My Zuni is still is in bloom but past peak, Dynamite is still near peak, and Catawba near peak now. But I think that's because of winter damage to the Catawba. They are all extremely attractive; though the red red Dynamite and Hopi pink seem to get the most attention.

A few years ago I bought a 'Zuni' that is purple. Now I gotta go look it up. Maybe I got an Catawba.

Edit: just looked up both. They both look purple to me but Catawba is darker and richer.

Anybody know about Burgundy Cotton? How well they bloom? Fall color? I'm trying to figure out a good color combination for my backyard. I'm thinking of a row of light pink with a row of dark purple in front of that. So I'm thinking of the Burgundy Cotton in the back with Zuni or Catawba in the front. I know that Burgundy Cotton is said to have white flowers, but I've seen it in person and it's more of a very light pink, which I think would look nice with the purple.

I did a combo of red and pink in the front (dynamite and Sioux) so I'm trying to do a different color combo in the back. Fall color is important to me.

Thanks in advance for your advice.

NATCHEZ RED

'Dynamite' blooming today in Maryland.

I understand what you're saying. Has anyone purchased a "Miss Frances, a true red?" Pyrchased one this winter hoping to actually see a red NOT a pink.

The fire hydrant really stands out in that scene!

Nicely hedged crepe myrtles too (bigger meatballs?) - they must have a pro keeping those in great shape or a good scaffold to get the upper reaches.

"I could do without the meatball shrubs"

Fine, but this landscaping is still much better than the average that is seen in the mid-Atlantic these days.

Looking for some feedback on Arapaho Crape Myrtle. The city plans to plan a couple in front of our house. I am so apprehensive. I don't like red flowers. Had so hoped they would have picked the Tuscarora CM, which is more pinkish. Hoping Arapaho blossoms have some pinkish tinge to them and not be a true red...Any experience from seeing or having the Arapaho blossoms? TIA!

Not really a deep red, maybe this could be 'Tonto'? This USNA CM Poster is a handy reference. The thing that struck me about this shrub is the height, barely over 6'. It has not been pruned.

This is a picture of dynamite