What Kind of Crape Myrtle Tree Sheds Bark?

White Flowering

• Arguably the best example of exfoliating bark on crape myrtle trees occurs on Natchez, which matures 30 feet tall and 35 feet wide. The bark strips are large and litter the ground. Two other crape myrtles that naturally shed their bark include the semi-weeping "Acoma" and large "Fantasy" cultivars. Acoma's bark reveals blotches of beige, charcoal gray and flesh color on a plant that matures 12 feet tall and equally wide. Fantasy is not a hybrid but a more ornate selection of species Lagerstroemia fauriei, a parent to many modern hybrid crape myrtles. Fantasy's bark is deep rusty orange and flakes away to unmask smooth pale beige underbark. It grows 50 feet tall and 25 feet wide.

Red Flowering

• When the fiery red to magenta flower clusters aren't present on these crape myrtles, walk up close to view the trunk and branch bark. Maturing 25 feet tall and 15 feet wide is cultivar "Arapaho," with bright coral-red flowers. Its medium beige bark sheds to expose light tan under-bark. Another rich red-flowering small crape myrtle is "Cheyenne." It grows only 12 feet tall and equally wide with mottled gray bark that exfoliates to reveal a light or medium beige smooth layer underneath.

Pink Flowering

• The tan bark of the "Biloxi" crape myrtle trees peels away to reveal both cinnamon and light gray under-bark. This cultivar grows 25 feet tall by 20 feet wide. "Commanche" matures 20 feet tall by 25 feet wide. The gray bark flakes off to expose irregular blotches of smooth pale pinkish beige layers. Russet brown to dark mahogany colors appear on the trunk of the "Wichita" cultivar as the gray-beige outer bark peels off.

Lavender Flowering

• Green-edged gray bark flakes away to reveal ghostly gray and tan hues on the "Muskogee" crape myrtle. The 30-foot tall by 30-foot wide tree always develops with numerous trunks in a cluster. "Yuma" grows 15 to 18 feet tall and wide, often with snakelike branches. Yuma's smooth light gray bark flakes off to allow variably beige to pale salmon-beige under-bark to contrast the gray. "Apalachee" grows with multiple thin trunks up to 20 feet tall and wide. The creamy beige bark peels off in irregular, narrow strips to show orange-brown under-layers.