Crape myrtle Pink Velour

* Common name: Crape myrtle Pink Velour(R)

* Botanical name: Lagerstroemia indica

* What it is: A large, multi-stemmed flowering shrub (or small tree, depending on pruning) that gets clusters of magenta flowers followed by dark-red pea-sized fruits from July through September. Nice exfoliating, smooth bark over time. Leaves are burgundy-tinted dark green.

* Size: About 15 feet tall and 8 feet wide, unless winter dieback makes you start over.

* Where to use: Best at a sunny house corner out front. Good front-yard tree in a small yard. Can be used along borders, in back-yard corners or at a patio corner. Best in full sun.

* Care: Virtually none. If an unusually cold winter kills top growth, prune it back to live wood or the whole way to the ground if necessary. New shoots should arise from the ground to reform the plant. Japanese beetles may attack leaves in July.

* Great partner: Dwarf boxwoods or birds nest spruce (low evergreens) or liriope (grass-like perennial) to partially cover bare bottoms of the trunks.