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I think so. I have a dwarf crepe myrtle on my balcony, but only the top of the tree gets sun. My balcony is southern facing, but I have a high fence around it - about 6 feet high. When it's pruned, it doesn't get much sun at all - until it has already grown enough new foliage to get above the fence line, it makes do with not a lot of direct sun.
It's the dwarf hybrid named Zuni. I prune it way back every winter and if I trim it after it blooms the first time, I'll get another bloom in the fall. I'm in zone 8b I think - San Jose, CA.
I use Bayer systemic tree/shrub fertilizer/pest control once a year after it starts to bud out in the spring. It does amazing in just a large pot. I've had it for about 4 years now on my balcony. Beautiful, easy plant, but it did have problems with aphids without the weed/feed fertilizer. As long as I use it once a year, I haven't had any more problems with pests at all.
My crepe myrtles love the immense Australian sunshine. They would flower and also have the most vibrant fall colours. Where are you from? If you're in a cooler climate, I don't think they would do very well in a place that gets rather fleeting late afternoon/evening sun (that's like, what? 3-5 hours of sun?).
I had one in my back yard (Georgia) that was shaded by an oak for most of the day. It flowered very little and seemed to stop growing at about 12 or so feet tall. It was there when we bought the house and seemed to be in stasis after 15 years.
My wife, in her usual wisdom, decided that I needed to dig it up and drag it to the front yard which gets almost the entire day's sun.
I did so, and that same crepe myrtle now explodes with flowers and quickly more than doubled in height. I can only speak for mine, but it really likes the sun.
they will grow, but won't get many flowers and foliage will not be as full. I have a large white one growing against a north facing wall, so more than half of the plant is in shade and doesn't bloom. It only gets flowers in the tallest branches above the wall where it gets sun all day.
I thought I posted a reply but I don't see it so I'll post again.
Thanks for all this good information.
The dwarf crepe myrtle I am looking to buy is called Victor and it's supposed to grow to 6-10 feet. I am in South Carolina, USA and the west side of my garage gets plenty of sunshine just not the morning one. After about noon, the sun reaches it and we have Daylight Savings Time so it stays sunny a long time now.
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