Tonto Red Crape Myrtle

Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Tonto’

Plant Details

USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 6a-9b Find Your Zone

Plant Type: Deciduous Flowering Tree, Fauriei Hybrid

Height at Maturity: 10-12′

Width at Maturity: 6-8′

Spacing: 5-6′ apart for solid hedge; 14’+ apart for space between plants

Growth Habit / Form: Upright, Broad Canopy, Rounded Canopy, Weeping Branches

Growth Rate: Moderate, Fast

Flower Color: Watermelon Red

Flowering Period: Mid-Summer, Late Summer, Early Fall

Flower Type: Single flowers in large rounded to elongated clusters

Fragrant Flowers: No

Foliage Color: Dark Green
Fall Foliage Color: Reddish Purple

Fragrant Foliage: No

Bark Color: Grey

Sun Needs: Full Sun or Mostly Sun

Water Needs: Average, low when established

Soil Type: Clay, Loam, Sand, Silt

Soil Drainage: Well Drained

Soil pH: 5.0 – 6.5

Maintenance / Care: Low

Attracts: Visual Attention

Resistances: Deer, Disease, Moderate Drought, Heat

Description

When it comes to flowering trees, there’s simply no others more showy than Crape Myrtles. They bloom for up to 100 days during summer, when there are few other trees and shrubs providing that service in the landscape. Colorful fall foliage and attractive exfoliating bark in winter enhance their overall appeal. It’s no wonder they are so wildly popular among designers and gardeners!

Tonto Crape Myrtle is a year-round color factory producing an abundance of striking, 6 to 7 inch clusters of watermelon-red (bright magenta) flowers on a globe-shaped canopy for up to 120 days during summer. Features dark green foliage turning deep red to reddish purple in fall and attractive beige bark which exfoliates with age.

No more problems with powdery mildew! Because Tonto is a ‘Fauriei Hybrid’, it is totally resistant to powdery mildew; an unsightly disease which shows up during summer as a white powdery substance that covers the leaves on many other types of crape myrtle.

Landscape & Garden Uses

Growing to 10 to 12 feet tall and 6 to 8 feet or so wide, the Tonto Crape Myrtle is ideal for use as a specimen, in groupings, as a hedge. Its medium size lends well to smaller garden spaces and pots, planters and other containers. It can be grown as a shrub or lower branches can be removed to form a very attractive small tree that serves well as a focal point specimen in landscape borders or home foundation plantings. Whether planted as a specimen or in groupings, this is one crape myrtle that packs a punch of color in the landscape. A fine addition to red theme gardens.

Suggested Spacing: 5 to 6 feet apart for solid hedge; 14 feet or more apart for space between plants

Note: For our customers who live and garden north of USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 6a, where this Crape Myrtle variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.

Growing Preferences

Tonto Crape Myrtle is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and full to mostly sun. Light shade is tolerated but flowering will be diminished in more shade. Has shown excellent resistance to powdery mildew and is quite drought tolerant when established. No pruning necessary however lowe branches can be removed to form a highly attractive small tree.

Helpful Articles

Click on a link below to find helpful advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Crape Myrtle trees.

How To Plant A Crape Myrtle In The Ground Or In A Pot
How To Prune a Crape Myrtle Tree the Right Way

How To Fertilize & Water A Crape Myrtle
How To Prune a Dwarf Crape Myrtle
Choosing the Right Crape Myrtle

Plant Long & Prosper!

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Questions? Contact Us!

I purchased one Tonto Crape Myrtle at the end of June and it arrived promptly and well-protected in an upright box. I wasn’t able to plant it right away, but it kept well in its protected pot which I was easily able to water during the interim. It is now planted and doing well. I am especially pleased that it is a tree form, that is, a single trunk rather than a cluster like a bush. I recommend Wilson Bros. Gardens for quality and performance.———————————We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy your purchase for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

The Tonto Crape Myrtle arrived promptly. It was well packed and healthy. It’s always a pleasure to purchase from Wilson Bros.—————————————————————————————–We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG

This may be the healthiest plant I’ve ever bought, either online or at a store. It arrived in beautiful condition – no broken branches, no dead leaves. It’s only been in the ground for 3 weeks and several branches have already grown 1 to 3 inches. Lots of new leaves.——————————————Yay! We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the kind words and great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG