Hi there! My mom lives near Portland and grows a couple of Crepe Myrtles. I'm not sure which ones they are but will ask her. They are not dwarf. They are actually pretty big, light pink in color. Beautiful. We're all from CA, and she missed her Crepe Myrtles. This one seems to do pretty well here. Will find out for sure for you. Her summers are a bit warmer.

For best results, crapes need full sun (8 hours plus) in our location. Even that is not a guarantee for reliable flowering - a location with some reflected heat (surrounding concrete, asphalt, pavers, southfacing walls, etc) will generate better results. You will find a variety available in area nurseries in the summer months, most of which will grow just fine here, although to a lesser size than in a hotter climate and with less reliable flowering. 'Natchez', 'Zuni' and 'Pecos' are often found (they are considered to be slightly cold hardier than most other selections) as are a few new introductions like 'Petite Plum', 'Red Imp' and 'White Chocolate'.

Check out the visitor parking lot at the Center for Urban Horticulture at the UofW. They have an extensive planting of a wide range of crape myrtle cultivars.

I've noticed they get fully loaded with aphids, especially if they're shaded.

And how tall is your fence? It wont take long before a Crepe Myrtle grows taller then a 4 foot fence or even a 6 footer.

How fast the height of the fence is exceeded, if ever depends on which cultivars are planted. There are even miniature ones. Most will need hottest possible conditions, even then much flowering may not be seen until September here.

I am hopeful about one I found last summer at Cistus Nursery on Sauvie Island near Portland. It is from cutting from a crepe myrtle that has been thriving in Ohio and it is a dwarf (I think 6 ' was the estimate). Name: Supersonic

Has anyone tried this one in the NW? jwww

This says it's a seed strain, therefore "it" could consist by now of thousands of individual plants with their own characteristics and tolerances rather than a single vegetatively propagated clone. Yours is a clone of one at Cistus, other seedlings from the strain being grown by other people could be rather different.

Here is a link that might be useful: Park Seed: Dwarf Crape Myrtle Supersonic Mix - This dwarf Crape Myrtle mix of white, pink, rose, red, and lilac blooms the first year from seed

Thanks for the info bboy. I noticed the Supersonic seed after purchasing my plant and wondered if there was a relationship or just multiple uses of the same name. This tag certainly implies that this one is from a cutting from the original stock. I will ask more about the source next time I'm at Cistus.

My understanding is that these are very easy to start from cuttings. Are they generally easy to start from seed or is there some novelty in being able to start a crape myrtle from seed? Or is it just the early bloom that is novel? Maybe nothing about it is novel and the Parks ad is just marketing!

BTW mine is about 20" high and did not bloom this year. It has a lovely graceful tree shape which may have been the result of pruning vs being fully natural....perhaps accounting for no bloom this year. I did not expect bloom at this size/age but am wondering now since it is probably related to those in the Park catalog. Do you happen to know if cuttings from the original tree are also early bloomers? jwww