Public invited to
Crape Myrtle Craze! Tour the Trails & Plant Sale

Tours, plant sales and presentations by experts are on the schedule for Crape Myrtle Craze! Saturday, June 27, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., in McKinney. This celebration of crape myrtles, hosted by the Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney Foundation as a fund-raiser, will be held at Boyd High School, 600 N. Lake Forest Drive in West McKinney, two blocks north of Virginia Parkway, and two miles south of US 380.

Special features of the event include a live Saturday-morning broadcast of Neil Sperry’s Texas Gardening KRLD radio show, a crape myrtle sale, a symposium featuring horticultural experts, and “Tour the Trails” bus trips to see McKinney’s Crape Myrtle Trails plantings. Lunch will also be available for purchase.

The annual Crape Myrtle Sale begins at 8 a.m. Hundreds of plants of 20 of the most outstanding varieties will be offered, many of them from the renowned breeding program of the United States National Arboretum. Many of the varieties being offered are seldom seen in nurseries, including the outstanding tall heirloom variety 'Glendora White'. Supplies of all varieties are very limited, and pre-orders are being accepted through the organization's website, www.crapemyrtletrails.org.

Neil Sperry's Texas Best Fertilizer will be sold at the plant sale, with 100 percent of the profits going to the Crape Myrtle Trails Foundation to further its work. Special discounts will be given when the fertilizer is bought in conjunction with the purchase of crape myrtles.

Participants may also purchase tickets to the Crape Myrtle Symposium in the high school cafeteria (10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.) and “Tour the Trails” bus trips (9 a.m. to 1 p.m.). Symposium speakers include Shara Gose of Rennerwood Wholesale Nursery, speaking on "The History Of Crape Myrtles"; Bram Franklin of Bonick Landscape and a member of the Crape Myrtle Trails board, speaking on "Uses and Care for Crape Myrtles"; and Neil Sperry, president of The Crape Myrtle Trails board, speaking on "The Present and Future of the Crape Myrtle Trails." He will detail the plans for "The World Collection Park" to be built in McKinney beginning in early 2010. The park will feature all known crape myrtle varieties growing side-by-side.

On the "Tour The Trails" bus trips, via air-conditioned buses, guides will point out highlights of the 14 miles of medians that feature more than 10,000 crape myrtles. Most varieties will be in peak bloom that weekend.

Ticket prices for the symposium and the guided tour are $10 for adults and $5 for children younger than 12. Ticket holders may attend both, or choose to participate in just one. Tickets can be bought online at www.crapemyrtletrails.org or at the event.

Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney Foundation is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote the use of crape myrtles throughout McKinney and all of North Texas.

For more information, contact:
Susan Owens,
Executive Director of The Crape Myrtle Trails of McKinney
972 542-1550