Then it's not a tree? Does it have separate trunks? Does it try to produce them, or just little, new branches on a shrub's bottom? There are shrub varieties and it sounds like you could have one. Christine

If you can get, and keep, the crepe myrtle to a single trunk, it won't be as wide as a multi-trunked tree. The flowering branches do extend pretty far out, and can hang down/droop gracefully as the blooms open, possibly as wide as tall, but I haven't measured any big ones that were single trunk. That's why I suggested planting further from the sidewalk, so it doesn't block the walk. You could trim any branches that overhung the walkway back to the trunk, although the CM as a whole might look lop-sided. I am not sure you WANT to prune a 20 foot tree to keep it lower, unless you have access to a cherry picker, as it's rather hard to be safe that high up and reaching to prune? (if you are an aerialist, line-man, or professional arborist, then never mind) And CM's don't look good pruned shorter, IMO. Look up "crepe murder" on this forum or Google for it, and find photos of each, and you can see the differences in "murdered" treees and trees left to grow naturally. Trimming for shape is one thing, trimming for height is much harder to do and keep the tree looking natural. Try to find a CM cultivar that won't get taller than you want the ultimate height to be, and be aware that it will take some years for it to grow to that height. While I love lamb's ears, unless you get a non-flowering variety, be aware that it might not be the best for next to a public walkway. The bumble bees LOVE the flowers, and while you do have to work pretty hard to get a bumble bee to sting, it might upset the neighbors and passers-by to hear and see them buzzing happily. Not many people are aware of the differences between bb's and honey bees, and can react badly to any buzzing, bee-like insect.

You might try finding a crepe myrtle with Lagerstroemia fauriei as part (or all) of the parentage. There are many hybrids, such as Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei 'Natchez'. Lagerstroemia fauriei is a more cold hardy crepe myrtle and these hybrids are rated to zone 6. They do come in a range of colors. Cultivars that are bred from just Lagerstroemia indica are only rated to zone 7. Just put "Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei" into your search engine and you should be able to find some of the names of the cultivars. Another plus to using these cultivars is that supposedly they have the most attractive bark.

Joel, I slightly misread your post initially. Are you wanting to duplicate what you've seen, avoid it, or just know more about it? There are many many cultivars of both semi-red (dark pink to reddish purple) and white crapes. True reds are rarer. It would be hard to easily and positively identify many white or redish varieties. If the trees you are seeing are really red, they might be 'Arapaho' (usually upright), 'Cheyenne' (rounded), 'Whit II'/Dynamite (usually upright), 'Whit IV'/Red Rocket(usually upright), or 'Whit VII'/Siren Red. 'Whit V'/Tightwad is another true red selection, but has a dense half-circle dwarf mound habit. White crapes include 'Acoma', 'Alba', 'Whit VI'/Burgundy Cotton, 'Byer's Wonderful White', 'Dwarf Snow', 'Dwarf White', 'Glendora White', 'Natchez', 'New Snow', 'Petite Snow', 'Sarah's Favorite', etc. Here is a link that might be useful: Sample List of Many Crape Myrtle Varieties