Name commemorates Magnus Lagerstroem, Swedish friend of Linnaeus

Origin: South China, Korea, India & Burma.

Habit: Small deciduous tree with ascending branches and multi trunk habit. Generally with broad vase shaped canopy, though some variation occurs. Moderate to slow growing mature dimensions range between 3-6m high x 3-6 m wide in cultivation.

Description: Small oval shaped leaves emerge yellowish-green, bronze to reddish purple in colour, maturing to a medium to dark green. Showy autumnal colour range from yellow to orange and red. Bark is smooth, brown-grey sometimes with an almost metallic lustre, and when sloughed reveals a more mottled brown and grey appearance. Flowers are borne in terminal clusters of branched cymes, colours range from white; pink; purple; lavender to dark red. Fruit is a capsule approximately 1cm long.

Tolerances: Adapts to a range of soils. Moderate to high drought tolerance. Prefers full sun for best flower display. Species is susceptible to powdery mildew, though some hybrids are resistant.

Notes: Requires pruning if single trunk is desired. Good tree with high urban tolerance that can be utilised in a number of different informal and formal landscapes. Good street value and size makes it suitable for use under powerlines.

Hybrids between L. indica and L. fauriei are worth considering due to assured flower colour and resistance to certain pathogens, hybrids include ‘Natchez’ with white flowers, ‘Tuscarora’ with dark coral-pink flowers and ‘Biloxi’ with pale pink flowers.

Root space: Based on mature size tree would require approximately 28m2 area or 17m3 root volume (Crown projection method).

Availability: Species is common. Numbers can be limited on hybrids.

Ref: Gilman, E. F. (1997) Trees for urban and suburban landscapes. Delmar. Spencer, R. (2002) Horticultural flora of South-eastern Australia. Flowering Plants – Dicotyledons Part 2. UNSW Press