Why can't you return it? I think they have a year's warranty. They sold you a mislabled plant. I'd find the receipt and return it.
Nancy

After all the work? The poor tree seems to have settled down and looks very happy. I thinks it likes to stay (I know it is silly but I believe plants have feelings, :)

It is just like you take in a stray dog and then decide to let it back to the streets, even though it has behaved itself. LOL!

But Lowe's has your $72. And you don't have the crepe you wanted, and that you cared enough to research carefully.
If I were you (and I'm much less tolerant of mislabeled plants than I used to be), I'd take a pix of the plant, a stem with bloom as well as the label and then talke to the garden center manager.
He or she should be able to check and find out if the one you want is available.
(If the garden center manager blows you off, contact your state's department of agriculture who licenses all plant vendors. Most states have laws against selling misidentified plants.)

I found a site with photos of many varieties -- maybe you can identify yours:

Here is a link that might be useful: links to variety photos

Let me get this straight..you don't want something because of the color? How racist. LOL

HM, I bought 4 crepe myrtles, all labeled the same color at HD. That summer they bloomed. I have 3 different colors. I didn't bother bringing them back.

The lesson learned, if the bloom color is important, but it when it's blooming.

Lowe's guarantees its plants. I returned some boxwoods, and there was no problem. I asked ahead of time if they had to be dead, and the manager said that I just don't have to be satisfied. I think they are great to do business with.

How do you know that what you have is not a crape myrtle? I did not look at all the plants in the link above, but I have pink, rose, lavender, and white. I have about 15, and no red, but I have seen red.

I don't know how many days mine bloom, but they are not blooming yet. If you are not satisfied, you will probably have to return it to get your money back.

I would not spend $72. for a crape myrtle, considering how fast they grow.

Sammy

I think a couple of you are misreading the post. She did want a crape myrtle, but she wanted a specific cultivar that would work in her conditions. Sounds like most crape myrtles are too big for her small yard and will not do well in clay over time.

Sammy, she didn't say it isn't a crape myrtle. Zypereris, I don't think she cares about the color.

Or maybe it's me who's missing something!

Bright red with white fringe? A crape myrtle? Could you have a white sport on it? Natchez is one of the "common" crape myrtles which is white. I took all my Natchez out as I don't like them big as a house and purchased three Acoma's (I only pay $6 for crape myrtles in September when they go on sale). One of mine suckered to a Natchez. Of course, it was on sale so I gave it to a neighbor who wanted one and purchased another Acoma.

Prarie Lace is bright pink with a white edge.

Here is a link that might be useful: Prarie Lace crape myrtle

Okay, I see what it is. It has an edge, almost like a picotee. I was certainly not reading right. LOL. I guess we base others' experiences, all too often, on our own. Now, I will just slink away embarrassed and promise to remain silent for a while. :-)

Hmm. I got stuck on the "I can't return" and on the $72.00. I am afraid that I did not address the real question.

Sammy

Nickelsmumz8, thank you for understanding. That was exactly what I meant. I really want a crepe myrtle, especially a white one. But my no-gardener and care-no-gardening husband suddenly decided he really wanted a real pink one (how odd, he always leaves all decisions to me when it comes to gardening!). Last night we talked about it over and he told me that he actually really likes this red color too. I don't think he knows what he really wants when it comes to gardening, LOL! I will check out the link provided by Petaloid to see what it is. Hopefully it turns out to be something suitable for our yard condition. Thank you all for your advice. I am new to the forum and have enjoyed it very much!

Oooh, I like that crape. My folks were very fond of crape myrtle. Around here you can prune them back to 1 or 2 feet in January, and by midsummer they are 6-8 feet tall again. Lovely!!

Take it back and either ask for a credit or make an exchange. Remember, with most of these big box stores, those who work in their garden centers haven't a clue about what the roses are, they just sell, sell, sell. Dealing with these people is strictly caveat emptor (Let the buyer beware). If you don't know what you are looking for, they cannot help you.

For $72 I'm gonna guess that it's pretty large. I'm not sure I would want to go to the trouble of digging it up if you're OK with it. However I would call the store and tell them that you were disappointed with the mislabeling. I would think they'd want to know. As long as you're fair & they're decent, they may end up giving you a discount on a future purchase or something. I do think they should be given the opportunity to do something for you.

Last fall I bought a bunch of bulbs at Home Depot. After I went through the trouble of planting them all carefully throughout my beds, I learned that some of them were zone 6 bulbs. Zone 6 has much warmer conditions. One day we were near HD so I dropped in to tell them that I was disappointed that they were selling bulbs that didn't belong in our zone. The customer service rep didn't understand what I was talking about so I just politely asked if I could speak w/the gardening manager. I wasn't irate or anything. I just figured anyone who knows anything about gardening would get it. The manager was really nice & told me I could bring them back for a refund. I told her that I wasn't really looking for a refund because I wasn't planning on digging anything up after all that work. I didn't even have my receipt w/me because I wasn't planning on going there that day. She told me if I wanted to get some different bulbs at about the same cost, she'd give them to me at no charge. I wasn't expecting that and was pleasantly surprised.

It never hurts to calmly voice your disatisfaction.

Yeah. If they are for a warmer zone than you, they might very well be mush when you go to dig them up.

Sammy

Mehearty, what you said makes a lot of sense to me. I think the nursery should know what kind of vendors they are dealing with. You are right it is a pretty big tree. scoobagirl, I bought a fully grown crepe myrtle because I live in zone 7a -- the marginal zone for growing crepe myrtles. I did try a small one two years ago and it died down almost to the ground every winter.Now it is still the same height (3 ft) as it was when I bought it :). I ran out of patience so when the first crepe myrtle came to the market, I grasped the biggest one. I took some pictures of it this afternoon.Tomorrow I will go to the nursery to voice my dissatisfaction. Anntn6b, I will take your advice to bring a pix of the plant with me along with my digital camera, as well as the receipt and the tag. At least I can ask them to find out the name of the crepe myrtle. And if it turns out to be a "Red Rocket" I surely will ask for a full refund. Red Rocket won't survive in clay. Or if it is something would grow into a 20 ft tree, I will be in trouble . I don't want to prune it every year (it now sits in the tight corner of my flower bed. I was called a "crepe murderer" by my friend because the one I replaced actually died or slipped into a deep coma after I pruned it. Thank you friends, with your kind advice now I know what I should do.

I would bet that the variety is Raspberry Sundae. It is by the same hybridizer as Pink Velour, and would likely have been mislabeled by the grower. It is a lovely tree, and you may find out that you really like it. Google it and see if that is what it looks like.

Snowheather, thank you for the tip. I googled Raspberry Sundae and found plenty of pictures and info about it.....it looks exactly like mine! Raspberry red with white edge! But I wish you are wrong because it is not a crepe myrtle I would ever pick for my spot. RS won't bloom till late August and it reaches 15-20ft, worst of all it hates clay! Now I just want to cry my heart out. But wait a minute.....it is only early July. So you must be wrong. Yet, who knows, maybe it was forced to bud in the greenhouse before they shipped it to Lowes. Oh, no. I wish people in Lowes will give me a different answer. As long as it blooms about 100 days,reach no more than 15ft,and can put up with clay, i would keep it unconditionally. Pink Velour blooms 120 days and reaches to only 10 ft here in Oklahoma-perfect for my lot. Now I really miss something out there named "Pink Velour"! It could have been mine if someone hadn't messed up with a label.

Some of you might wonder why I so insisted on getting a "perfect" crepe myrtle. Well...I live in a condo and lucky enough to have a 10 X 15ft patch of lawn in the back and a 3 X 9 ft flower bed between the lawn and the house. I filled the bed with roses and squeezed in the crepe myrtle. I can have only one crepe myrtle for my housee.......therefore I want it to be perfect :) I dug a couple of holes in the lawn last year and put in some thrubs. A few days later someone came and spray red, yellow, orange, and blue paint lines on the lawn to mark the gas pipe, cables, etc. :(

Are you sure you don't want to ever prune it? I prune mine every year.

By the way, I don't think that Lowe's in Oklahoma would have that many varieties of Crape Myrtles for sale. Have you considered calling the garden manager and asking what they ordered?

Sammy

Sammy

I'm fed up with the mislabeling and other atrocities performed on plants at big box stores, Lowes in particular. Just the other day I was there with my husband and checked out what roses they had (((snort))) and I was dismayed at the lack of care....rampant blackspot on almost all, no water and no deadheading....terrible! There were three rosebushes in the mix labeled "Chicago Peace".....but had lilac colored blooms.....oy.

Last week at Lowe's I bought several salvia nemorosa labelled Mexican Bush Sage (salvia leucantha.) Talk about mislabelled! I told the garden center folks but they weren't at all interested, nor did they seem to think I might know what I was talking about, LOL.

You learned a good lesson. Anyone who actually cares about the variety of plant that they purchase never purchases one from a big box store. Real nurseries can have mislabed plants as well, but it's far less common that the box stores. They sell lowest common denominator plants and stock overruns and nursery odds and ends and don't care at all about anything but the margins they get on the stock. Every year I'm amazed at the roses that HD sells labeled "Red" "Yellow" or "Pink" and that consumers snap them up by the basketfull. What's even funnier is that many of the "Red" roses were actually blooming "Mauve"!

As far as crepe myrtles not liking clay soil, I don't know who on earth told you that little lie. Crepes love clay soil, and once established, are some of the most durable plants you can ever plant. My mother is still (inadvertantly) growing a watermelon pink one the she's been trying to kill for 30 years. She planted it in the wrong spot, and by the time she went to move it, it had sent out enough roots that they send up shoots every year. It's in pure builders clay without even the topsoil to accessorize it. Only the advent of Roundup has even made a smidgen of difference in the shoots it sends out every year.

Hey Hollysprings, welcome back.

It is good to hear from you, and I love your style. I know you are busy, but you must drop by more often.

Sammy

Hollysprings! Hey! We've missed you.

As a garden center worker bee (NOT a big box store) I can tell you that we DO sell the occasional mis-marked plant...but we replace it when the problem is brought to our attention. We also usually catch the problem...the only exceptions being different cultivars of the same plant...sold not in bloom. Peonies are the most common problem. The grower mislabels them...people plant them...and then they are the WRONG color.

If the customer wants to return the plant we'll swap it out for the correct cultivar (if we have it) or refund his/her money. If theyw ant to keep it (they usually do!) we offer them a deep discount on the correct cultivar.

I thought I'd posted about crapes liking clay...Hollysprings is correct. They do. It's one of the plants I tell folks they don't HAVE to ammend the soil for...other than adding a phosphate source. It'll be fine in clay.

melanie

I have Raspberry Sundae, Dynamite, Pink Velour, and several others from Lowes. None reach more than 6 feet tall for me, and all do very well in my clay soil. I am most likely a zone cooler than you are, though. (Most years we are 7a) I saw all three of those plus I think Red Rocket in a Lowes in Oklahoma City a few weeks ago. TLC in OKC had them also. Mine are starting to bud...that is, the ones that had branches that survived the Easter freeze. These crepe myrtles are hybridized and grown in Oklahoma and really are good varieties for the climate and soil. They are not grown in greenhouses, but in pots in fields. I've not seen any priced higher than $24, though, unless they were a tree type.
Right now, our Lowes in Kansas just has crepe myrtles labeled Pink or White or Red...and some older ones like Acoma, Hopi, Pecos, that line. Most years, they get in a very nice selection. My advice would be for you to buy the Pink Velour you wanted when you see it in bloom in the store. Cut a blooming branch off the mislabeled one and return it with the tag for your refund, then have a friend come dig it out and replant it in their yard. That way Lowes can notify their grower and your plant lives.

A update on my dealing with Lowes:

Yesterday morning I went over to Lowes, ready to talk to them to find out what breed that crepe myrtle was. If it turns out to be something close to a PV, I would just go ahead and keep it without making a fuss. Or if it turns out to be something I don't want, I would ask them find me one to replace it whenever it is available.

First we went to the customer service and told the person there the situation of our yard and the wrong label issue and asked what they could do to fix the problem. That guy's answer is "All you need to do is to pull it out and take it here and we will give you a full refund." He said that with such pride as if their one-year-guarrantee is the best solution to keep customers happy. He didn't seem to care when we told him some of the crepe myrtle out there (same as ours) could have been wrong-labelled as well. And I also noticed when we mentioned "Pink Velour" he had this "a crepe myrtle is a crepe myrtle" look in his face. Even though the last thing I wanted to do is to pull that poor plant out....but I was so chilled off by his response. I decided I didn't want to talk to him any more. I could have talked to the garden manager as well. But I was totally discouraged. So I went back home and dug the poor thing out and hauled it back to the store.

At the return counter, I told the cashier that those crepe myrtles out there could be wrong-labelled too. She didn't seem to care and didn't make any comment on my concern. I found myself talking into the air!

That is the ending of the story. I have put in a lot of work and heart in planting that crepe myrtle.....but the biggest loser is that nameless crepe myrtle itself. When we dug it out and carried it to the car I felt like I had just murdered it. I cried.

I'm sorry. But we did learn a lot about Crepe Myrtle. You have revitalized my interested in one I have growing here. Maybe the sacrifice of your tree will lead to the success of mine.

lowes in houma louisiana did the same thing to me,so i went to home depot and bought 9 crape myrtles and dug the others up,now after reading all these post i wonder what i've got!!!!!!

Crape myrtles are one of the few plants that will survive in clay and do well. I planted 24 when we first moved in and before I I redid my soil. When we removed them 4-5 years later, they were so large we had to use chain saws to take them out -- yes, in clay soil. Mine have been known to start blooming in June if the weather is hot enough. I only left 3/24. Yes, I got them on sale for $3 each when I planted them. It's hard to figure out how I could have paid $72 for a crape myrtle when I got 24 for that same amount of money but I guess if I wanted it badly enough, I would figure out a way.

I live in Tulsa, and when you buy a plant, they tell you that all you have to do is bring back the plant to get your money back.

These people are trained for the extremely high volume that they have, and are not at liberty to do anyting else. Did you really have a receipt for t $72.00 crape myrtle from a Tulsa Lowe's? We shop there all the time, and I find that amazing.

Lowe's would probably have a pink, rose, white, and lavender. Nobody there would care about the type. You go to a nursery if you want more than what the big stores have. I don't buy roses at Lowe's, but wouldn't hesitate to buy something like a crape myrtle there.

Crape Myrtles are in bloom now, and you could tell what color you have. As you have no doubt observed, they have many kids there, and they don't care about the brands.

It is a shame that you returned it if you liked it. All you have to do is cut it, and it will spawn about 5 more. They are super easy to transplant.

Southwood nursery would be able to give you exactly what you want, and would have a staff that could accommodate you. I bought a couple of mine at Juniper Hills, and Springers is still in business as are some other nurseries.

Sammy