There have been a few crape AKA crepe myrtle threads lately in this forum.

This one, Unusual plants around town........, covers a lot of territory here in New England.

Your zone 5 is a problem, but I'll let the more knowledgeable forum members comment.

Claire (who just planted a little 'Hopi' in zone 6b this fall)

edit note: I corrected the link to a better thread

This post was edited by claire on Thu, Dec 12, 13 at 18:01

I don't remember if posted on the 'unusual plants around town' thread, but I do have a couple of big crape myrtles in my garden - actually this summer I noticed quite a few new ones, not positive if they're seedlings, root offshoots, or ... something else.

The one caveat about even the newer hardy strains is that, in an occasional awful winter with temps that fall far below the average, they MAY die to the ground. This has only happened to me once, but having a precious tree in a prominent location be 10 feet tall one year and pretty much a sub-shrub the next year can be a bit of a challenge. Mine finally started to leaf out on July 4, or at least that was when I noticed the tiny leaves beginning to sprout. It's now back to being big enough to be a feature - something like 9 feet tall, but we lost all those gorgeous, muscular trunks, and now have to remove a lot of stems every year, trying to get it to look like a (multi-trunked) tree again.

Norwich is in zone 6a, with winter lows -10ðF to -5ðF. If you're much further inland, and/or to the north, you may have fewer varieties to choose from. Still, crapes could be worth a try, especially if there's a sheltered area in your garden that maybe stays a bit warmer than normal.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it's not worth even trying to grow a crape myrtle as a typical planting in zone 5. The best that you could hope for is the plant being root hardy in your zone. The top-growth will not be hardy and consequently it will not bloom like you want.

The one thing that may work in your zone is to keep the crape myrtle as a potted plant in a rather large pot. If the pot could be move to an unheated garage or shed then it will probably survive the winter intact and give you the bloom show that you want. This strategy is only really viable for small to medium size CMs.

Thank you for input. I'm in upper Ct (near the Mass line)
between Sturbridge & LongMeadow. Guess, though I'd
love one, I'll pass on it. Haven't a sheltered spot for one. We just removed 1 acre of pines on our 2 acres...and the
back yard is quite open. We've been here 2 months so hope to successfully garden next spring.

Are you sure you're in zone 5 and not zone 6?

I have a large crape the size of a small tree down here on the south coast of MA. Most winters here are zone 7 (meaning temp doesn't fall below zero). My variety is called Muskogee which is good to 0 or maybe -5. There are two varieties field tested in PA that are apparently good to -8 and -12 respectively (see linked list). I think you could try that variety which is good to -12. That variety would probably be hardy in a good chunk of southern New England. Give it a shot!

Here is a link that might be useful: Crape Myrtle hardiness chart.

I think you are in zone 6a. If you check the new USDA plant zone hardiness map, most of upper CT is in zone 6.