J. Berry’s Black Diamond Crapemyrtle Collection is now available worldwide

J. Berry’s Black Diamond Crapemyrtle Collection is now available worldwide. Plants are trademarked under the Black Diamond name in China, Japan and South Africa, as Black Solitaire in Europe and Diamonds in the Dark in Australia.

The crapemyrtles are known for their mildew-resistant dark burgundy leaves, compact growth habits and summer-long blooms. 

"The unique black foliage crapemyrtle series known as Black Diamond in the U.S. is now available in the EU under the Black Solitaire brand,” Marketing & Business Development Director Eric Ciraud of DHMI, the EU's Black Solitaire distributor, says. “First commercial tests made in 2016 opened a market of over 500 million inhabitants, announcing an outstanding success."

“Black Diamond Crapemyrtles are making a tremendous impact in China; we see nothing but success and opportunities ahead of us," Shaun Xiao Xiong, general manager of Ningbo Yong Feng Landscape Construction Co., the Black Diamond distributor for China, says.

In the U.S., Black Diamonds are moving north, becoming popular in container garden combinations in growing zones otherwise incompatible with crapemyrtle culture. J. Berry released the first two introductions, Ruby Prince and Garnet Queen™, in a new line of green-leafed crapemyrtles called the Emerald Empire series in 2017.

Photo courtesy of J. Berry Nursery.