Natchez is the big white crape myrtle you see anchoring lawns and drives all over Birmingham. It grows into a true small tree, 20 to 25 feet, with clouds of white flowers from early summer into fall and cinnamon-brown bark that peels smooth as the trunks age, so it earns its place even in winter.

Give it full sun and room to spread; shade and crowding cut the bloom. It handles our heat and clay once established and needs little beyond a deep soak in dry spells. Skip the hard topping in late winter; thin whole branches instead and let the natural vase shape develop.