Crape Myrtle ‘Rosea Nova’ · Lagerstroemia indica ‘Rosea Nova’

'Rosea Nova' is a deciduous, multi-stemmed small tree reaching 4 to 6 metres in height and 3 to 5 metres in spread, with a balanced rounded crown (Habitusform). Dense panicles of intense pink, crepe-textured flowers open from June into August, extending into the late-summer window when most central European canopy species have finished blooming. Glossy dark green foliage turns yellow, orange, and red in autumn, and the smooth bark exfoliates in irregular plates that hold visual interest through leaf-off.

Hardiness is the primary constraint on specification. The species is reliably hardy as a tree form to approximately minus 15 degrees Celsius on sheltered, free-draining sites, which places its working envelope in the Oberrheingraben (Upper Rhine valley), the Niederrheinische Bucht (Lower Rhine basin), the Kölner Bucht, and the Weinbauklima of Rheinhessen and the Pfalz. East of the Elbe and above 400 metres in the voralpenland (pre-Alpine foothills), winter minima of minus 18 degrees Celsius and below routinely kill back top growth; the rootstock regenerates but the tree form is lost. The first three winters are the risk window, before the wood hardens off.

Site requirements (Standortansprüche) are exacting on sun and forgiving on substrate. Full sun is obligate; flowering collapses in part shade, and weak bloom is followed by raised susceptibility to fungal infection. The species accepts acidic, sandy, and clay-loam soils provided drainage is good, and tolerates compacted urban substrates and the air pollution of central squares once established. Salt tolerance is low, which rules out alignments where winter de-icing is heavy.

On phytosanitary grounds, the principal concern is powdery mildew under humid late summers; L. indica is more susceptible than the L. indica × L. fauriei hybrids developed at the US National Arboretum, and a sheltered, well-ventilated position reduces incidence. Crape myrtle bark scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) is the other documented genus-level pest to keep under surveillance. The cultivar does not appear on the GALK-Straßenbaumliste and is not a primary Straßenbaum candidate, but its drought and heat profile, combined with reliable late-summer flowering, position it for Klima-Artenmatrix consideration on courtyard, plaza, and accent plantings in the warmest Klimaregionen.