Slender Black™ Crepe Myrtle – Lagerstroemia

Almost-black foliage, beautiful pink flowers and a whole lot of garden personality.

Not every plant needs bright flowers to get your attention.

Some just turn up wearing almost black.

Meet Slender Black™.

With striking deep purple foliage that can appear almost black, beautiful pink flowers and a naturally upright growth habit, this crepe myrtle is a gorgeous choice for adding contrast and colour to the garden.

Growing approximately 1.5 metres tall and just 90 centimetres wide, Slender Black™ is particularly useful when garden space is limited but you still want something that makes an impact.

Plant it alongside silver foliage, ornamental grasses or fresh green plants and watch those beautiful dark leaves stand out. Use it as a feature in a courtyard, repeat it along a garden border or grow several together to create a striking informal hedge.

And although its foliage is certainly the main attraction, the pink flowers add another beautiful layer of colour.

Slender Black™ is deciduous, meaning it loses its leaves in winter before producing fresh growth as the seasons warm.

It's a lovely reminder that a garden doesn't need to be green to be beautiful.

Plant details

• Botanical name: Lagerstroemia spp. ‘CM04’

• Mature height: Approximately 1.5m.

• Mature width: Approximately 90cm.

• Flowers: Pink.

• Foliage: Deep purple to almost black; deciduous.

• Growth habit: Naturally slender, upright and dense.

• Position: Full sun to light shade.

• Soil: Reasonably well-drained soil; tolerates heavier soils provided they don't remain waterlogged.

• Garden uses: Courtyards, smaller gardens, border hedging, feature planting and contrasting foliage combinations.

• Tolerance: Drought, humidity and frost tolerant once established, with good powdery mildew resistance reported in comparative testing.

How to grow Slender Black™ Crepe Myrtle

Choose a sunny position or somewhere with light shade. Its upright habit makes it particularly useful in narrower garden beds.

Water regularly during establishment, particularly throughout the first 8–13 weeks, adjusting according to rainfall, heat and soil moisture. Continue supplementary watering as needed while the roots develop.

Apply mulch around the base to help retain moisture, keeping it clear of the stems.

Slender Black™ can be left to develop its natural upright shape or lightly pruned during winter to maintain a tidy, dense shrub.

Apply a suitable slow-release or organic fertiliser in spring according to the manufacturer's directions.

What will you receive?

Your Slender Black™ will arrive as a healthy young plant in a 50mm nursery tube, ready to establish in your garden.

You're purchasing young tubestock, not a mature flowering shrub. The photographs show the variety's characteristics as it develops, and growth and flowering will depend on plant maturity and growing conditions.

Who said a beautiful garden had to be green?

Add Slender Black™ to your garden for a little contrast, a little colour and something wonderfully different.