USGrowersGuide

Plants

Crape myrtle planting zones

Crape myrtle covers 6a–10b, but the zone is only half the answer. All 3 types below flower on the current season’s growth, after the spring freeze window closes, so the bigger questions here are winter hardiness and pruning.

Published October 23, 2026 · Cite this page

The types

Which crape myrtle you are choosing between

Type Zones A late freeze
Tree-form hybrids Lagerstroemia indica × fauriei (e.g. ‘Natchez’, ‘Muskogee’, ‘Tuscarora’) 6a to 10b, then too hot Safe The large ones. UC Placer lists these Native American names among the cultivars more resistant to powdery mildew.
Mid-size cultivars Lagerstroemia (e.g. ‘Catawba’, ‘Cheyenne’) 6a to 10b, then too hot Safe UC Contra Costa gives ‘Catawba’ as about 15 by 15 feet and ‘Cheyenne’ 10 by 10, both mildew-resistant.
Black Diamond series Lagerstroemia (dwarf, dark-leaved; e.g. ‘Purely Purple’) 6a to 10b, then too hot Safe Dwarf crape myrtles with near-black leaves (Penn State), the size UF/IFAS suggests where a full-size tree would need routine pruning.

Zone ranges and bloom habit are a judgement — horticultural convention, not a measurement, and the same standing as the heat ratings on our crop tables. Everything below this panel is measured.

Zone by zone

Which crape myrtles are hardy where, and when the freeze lands

The two left columns come from the variety table above — a judgement. The two right columns are measured: they are the median last spring freeze across every NOAA station the zone’s ZIP codes actually cite, and how much later the one-year-in-ten freeze arrives.

Zone Hardy here Flowers exposed Last spring freeze 1 year in 10
6a 3 of 3 none April 18 – May 24 across 1004 stations about 16 days later
6b 3 of 3 none April 11 – May 19 across 991 stations about 16 days later
7a 3 of 3 none April 5 – May 9 across 941 stations about 17 days later
7b 3 of 3 none March 30 – April 26 across 679 stations about 16 days later
8a 3 of 3 none March 20 – April 16 across 689 stations about 17 days later
8b 3 of 3 none March 7 – April 17 across 700 stations about 19 days later
9a 3 of 3 none February 15 – April 6 across 446 stations about 22 days later
9b 3 of 3 none February 2 – April 6 across 218 stations about 27 days later
10a 3 of 3 none 152 of 190 stations here record no ordinary spring freeze, so no date speaks for the zone
10b 3 of 3 none 68 of 79 stations here record no ordinary spring freeze, so no date speaks for the zone

“Hardy here” and “flowers exposed” are a judgement, from the variety table above. The freeze dates are measured — NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, and the range is across the stations the zone’s own ZIP codes cite rather than one station chosen to speak for it.

Why the date matters

Your zone does not tell you your last freeze

Across the 8 zones above that publish a range, the median last spring freeze varies by 38 days inside a single zone — 27 days even in the tightest, zone 7b, and 63 in the widest, zone 9b. Two gardens with the same zone on the label can be a month apart on their last spring freeze.

And the median is not the risk. Across the 4,467 NOAA stations serving these zones, the freeze that arrives one year in ten lands a median of 17 days after the median date, and 23 days after it at the tenth of stations where that tail runs longest. None of the types above flowers inside that window, which is why this page puts winter hardiness and pruning first.

⛔ We publish no temperature at which a bud is lost. NOAA’s normals give dates, not damage thresholds, and inventing a number to bridge the two is the one thing this site refuses everywhere else. What is on this page is when the freeze arrives and which flowers are out when it does.

Where crape myrtle grows

Penn State Extension says crape myrtles have historically been restricted to USDA zones 6 to 10, which leaves out the northern tier of Pennsylvania and the high Appalachians, and that newer “cold hardy” varieties are advertised as hardy to zone 5. It notes that modeling suggests crapemyrtle bark scale can follow the plant throughout its range.

UF/IFAS calls crape myrtle a dominant landscape plant in North and Central Florida and throughout the South. In Placer County, California, UC Master Gardeners say it blooms from early July until the days cool in early October, colors well in fall, shows off its bark in winter, and is a water-wise plant that tolerates drought.

Choosing a cultivar

Pick the size first. UF/IFAS says a crape myrtle planted in full sun away from walkways needs little or no pruning, and that if one needs routine pruning to fit its space, the answer is to replace it with a smaller cultivar.

ChoiceWhat the source says
Mildew-resistant cultivars UC Placer says cultivars with Native American names — ‘Catawba’, ‘Cherokee’, ‘Natchez’, ‘Muskogee’, ‘Seminole’, ‘Tuscarora’ — tend to be more resistant to powdery mildew.
Sizes UC Contra Costa gives ‘Catawba’ (purple) as about 15 by 15 feet, ‘Cheyenne’ (red) 10 by 10, and ‘Natchez’ (white) 20 by 20.
Dwarf, dark-leaved Penn State lists the Black Diamond series of dwarf crape myrtles among near-black foliage plants, and rates ‘Purely Purple’ hardy to zone 6a.
Parentage Penn State says most planted cultivars are Lagerstroemia indica or its hybrids, and that Japanese crapemyrtle was introduced in the 1950s as a source of powdery mildew resistance.

Planting and care

UC Placer says crape myrtles like full sun and do best with infrequent but deep watering once established. The trees sometimes need staking longer than other trees; take the stakes off as soon as the trunk can hold itself up. UC Contra Costa adds that full sun and room around the plant, so it is not crowded, are the best defenses against powdery mildew.

UC Placer warns against too much fertilizer or water, which push out soft new growth that mildew attacks first.

Pruning, and why not to top it

UF/IFAS says crape myrtle does not require much pruning: remove poorly placed limbs, but avoid topping, commonly called “crape murder”, which can damage and disfigure the tree. It names late winter as the best time to prune. Penn State notes that in colder areas, where crape myrtles are cut back to the roots, pruning out infested wood may be enough to eliminate crapemyrtle bark scale.

Full guide: How to Prune Crape Myrtles Without Crape Murder

Common problems

UF/IFAS calls crape myrtle one of the most pest-free landscape plants. The two problems the other sources name:

Common mistakes

We found no Texas A&M source on crape myrtle, so Texas advice on this page is limited. For Texas, ask your county AgriLife Extension office.

Your ZIP code

Your ZIP, your answer

Enter your ZIP code to see your USDA zone, which of the 3 types on this page are rated for that zone and when its late-freeze window runs, read from the table on this page, and the freeze dates of the NOAA station nearest you.

Works for all 40,502 US ZIP codes. Freeze dates need a NOAA station within 100 km; where there is none, the page says so rather than estimating one. Your ZIP code stays in your browser: the page downloads the file of ZIP codes that share its first three digits and looks yours up there. It is not stored or tracked.

Your answer appears here.

Full details for any ZIP code: ZIP code zone finder.

Questions

What zones do crape myrtles grow in?
Penn State Extension says most crape myrtles can be planted in USDA zones 6 to 10, and some cold-hardy cultivars are marketed as surviving zone 5.
What is the white powder on my crape myrtle?
Most likely powdery mildew. UC Master Gardeners in Contra Costa County say the best control is prevention: a resistant cultivar, such as those with Native American names like ‘Catawba’ or ‘Natchez’, planted in full sun with room around it.
Why is my crape myrtle trunk black?
Black sooty mold grows on the honeydew that crapemyrtle bark scale and crapemyrtle aphids produce, Penn State Extension says. Crushing a white scale sac with a fingernail leaves a pink streak if it is bark scale.

Sources

Freeze dates on this page are NOAA 1991–2020 Climate Normals, for every station the ZIP codes in each zone cite. Zones are the USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map, 2023. The type table is a judgement, as labelled above. Growing advice is quoted from the extension publications below, each written for its own area.

How we write our guides

Published October 23, 2026

How to cite this page

Copy a citation below. The accessed date is today's, filled in by your browser; if it shows [date], put in the day you read the page. Check the format against the style guide you are using.

APA

USGrowersGuide.com. (2026, October 23). Crape myrtle planting zones. Retrieved [date], from https://usgrowersguide.com/plants/crape-myrtle

MLA

“Crape myrtle planting zones.” USGrowersGuide.com, 23 Oct. 2026, usgrowersguide.com/plants/crape-myrtle. Accessed [date].

Seasonal jobs for this plant

Related