I live in NE Mesa, which is a higher elevation than most parts of the valley. I haven't seen much in the forum on Crape Myrtle trees. They are so beautiful when in bloom and grow well in warm climates, including the desert southwest because they are generally drought tolerant and handle clay soils well. I'm surprised I don't see more of them in metro Phoenix because they are great landscape trees that require very little maintainance, other than occasional deep watering. I am ordering a Dynamite Crape Myrtle to place on the north side of my house where there's mostly shade. They love full sun, so I'm concerned it may not do as well in that spot to produce abundant flowers? I have a Red Rocket Crape Myrtle seedling near the east wall of my back yard and it hasn't budded out yet from dormancy. The Raspberry Crape Myrtle bush next to it is producing small leaflets now. Crapes come in different sizes, so they can be located in tight spots in the yard as well, which is ideal. I'm anxious to see them in bloom this summer, as they bloom up to 120 days! And they also produce lovely Autumn color just before going dormant for the Winter months.