Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F
Early Bird Purple Crape Myrtle is a semi-dwarf cultivar that begins flowering a month or so earlier than standard crape myrtles, hence the name "Early Bird." It will re-bloom for up to 120 days. It grows from 5 to 8 feet tall so can be useful in smaller gardens and spaces as a large shrub, small tree or natural flowering hedge. The "purple" in the name is a little misleading. After seeing the bloom, I'd say that it's a light or soft purple at best. Still a desirable color, especially against orange tone brick, tans and greys.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Planting
Plant Early Bird Purple Crape Myrtle in locations that provide well-drained soil and plenty of sunshine. That being said, the data I'm seeing on this cultivar says it will tolerate part shade. Because it's a semi-dwarf that grows from 5 to 8 feet in height, this crape myrtle is useful in smaller landscapes and spaces as a mid-size shrub or small tree.

To plant, dig a hole no deeper than the root ball and two to three times the width of the root ball and fill it with water. If the hole drains within a few hours, you have good drainage. If the water is still standing 12 hours later, improve the drainage in your bed, perhaps by establishing a raised bed. Turn and break up the soil removed from the planting hole. If the native soil removed from the planting hole is compacted or heavy clay, mix in organic compost at a 25 to 30% ratio to condition soil. Remove your plant from its container and carefully but firmly loosen the root ball. Set the plant into the hole you've prepared, making sure the top of the root ball is slightly above the soil level. Pull your backfill soil mixture around the root ball in the hole, tamping as you go to remove air pockets. Then water thoroughly and cover with a one to two-inch layer of mulch.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Pruning
Early Bird Purple Crape Myrtle requires no pruning. If you want to grow it as a small tree removing lower branches will be required. This is best done in late winter or early spring, before new growth has emerged.

Unlike other types of crape myrtle that are typically pruned in late winter, wait to prune the canopy (top) of Early Bird's AFTER the first bloom in late spring. Pruning in late winter might delay bloom time.

Rather than go into more details here about pruning a crape myrtle tree I'll just post a link to an article I wrote that provides detailed instructions for a method I've used successfully for 25 years: www.gardenality.com/Articles/344/How-To-Info/Pruning/How-To-Prune-A-Crape-Myrtle/default.html

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Feeding
Feed Early Bird Purple Crape Myrtle with a well-balanced, slow-release, shrub and tree fertilizer in spring, when new growth begins to emerge. When using a fertilizer, follow instructions on product label.

Gardenality.com · Gardenality Genius · Zone 8A · 10° to 15° F · Comment About Problems
When established, Crape Myrtle are one of the toughest plants I know of. They tolerate heat and drought and don't have any serious pest or disease problems. Japanese beetles will visit the flowers and honeydew aphids will visit the foliage in the fall. Both are temporary and neither do much damage, so I do nothing to eliminate them. The Japanese beetle lands on the blooms without doing much damage at all. The honeydew aphid leaves a sticky residue on the topside of leaves that collects dust and dirt. This can be a little unsightly, but only lasts for a little while as the leaves will soon fall off when the tree goes into dormancy. If you want to spray for Japanese beetles, use liquid Sevin. To spray for aphids, I would suggest using a product containing Neem oil.