Helen, the standard crepes are more likely to peel than the dwarfs, but they all do to some extent. Michael Dirr says that woody crepes can withstand temps down to -10F. At temperatures below this they would be considered perennials, and die back to the ground and emerge in the spring. I'm in Central Arkansas, and I've only seen some crepes die down to the ground once, the winter of 1983-84. I would think you'd have pretty good luck in SW MO. A location out of the west wind and sheltered near a house may add to winter hardiness.

I have one large white crepe myrtle. The bark peels on this tree maybe every 3 years. I love the dark copper color under the peels. This slowly fades to gray/light brown with time. When the conditions are just right, this tree also colors splendidly in the autumn.

One other note about crepes. I read often how we need to annually prune them in late winter. The only pruning I do is take out suckers and crossing branches. Many people give them a crew cut and this just kills the shape of the trees.

Thanks I am going to work on getting this look. I don't know if I am allowed to mention the cottage garden forum, but there are some beautiful old crepe myrtle trees on one thread pictures are from zone 8. I may be wanting something I can't have.

Helen, I see them all over Springfield in various sizes and colors. Some are definitely large enough to prune up like you want, but none I have seen are done that way.

If you just want the multi-trunk, beautiful bark, you might check out betula nigra, River Birch. I had a gorgeous one with wonderful peeling bark, but the ice storm destroyed it.

In fact I need to finish cutting it to the ground...I kept hoping it would come back, but it just finished dying.

I want what the lady has on the cottage garden forum - late August pictures of her yard. I also want her celosia. My Heritage river birch got bent to the ground twice in the two ice storms. It did survive but now is bent over; I don't like it as well.

All the ones I've seen around here are shaped like a big shrub with a lot of "trunks" coming from the base. Just a theory but maybe the tip dieback in the winter makes them branch out more than they would in the south. They do still get tall but I think if you want to prune one into a tree shape with a limited number of trunks, you might have to prune it every spring forever.
They don't all have the same shape. The link below lists different culivars with their growth habit and height. It's for Texas so I doubt they would get as tall here as there but at least it will give you something to compare. The ones with Native American names are newer hybrids that are more cold hardy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Fanick's Crape Myrtle list

Here's a similar list from the U.S. Arboretum - or it might be the same one I'm not sure.

Here is a link that might be useful: U.S. Arboretum chart

Thanks for the links. The tip die back and more sprouts at the bottom sounds like the answer. I wondered how they treated them from the beginning to get that look. I have a seedling CM that planted itself where it is going to block my path and shade my small plants. I think I'll try to make a single trunk tree of it. My last two purchased CMs have purple foliage. I really like my little pink velour. I have a big white one that is about 8 feet tall bushy but it kind of weeps. I like that ones shape.

Instead of buying on impulse I should make a list of the ones that sound good. Acoma is the white one I have that I like.

The bushy crepes with too many stems could be from winter kill, or the owner may simply be chopping them down every year. With patience, a bush like this could be slowly transformed into a large sculptural crepe. Simply choose 5-7 of the best stems and cut the rest out. Keep on clipping every late spring any other sprouts. Don't be tempted to use roundup, or you will kill the whole tree. As they grow, cut out crossing branches.

There are some weeping varieties. Also, crew cut pruning will result in rapid growth from the cut. This new growth will be weak, and weep when the large flower heads start to bloom. Crepe Murder is the name for this type of pruning. This can be corrected if the pruning points are not contorted knuckles from repeated pruning in the same place. This late winter, select one or two branches coming from the old prune wound. The selected ones should be the strongest, and growing in the same general direction as the base branch. Cut out all of the many other branches growing from the prune wound. This will look odd for a year or so, but your tree will recover and resume growing the way God(dess) designed.

The flower stalks die completely every winter. You can prune out any spent seed heads in late winter. If the tree is too tall, you can just leave them alone and they will fall off as the new growth begins. Crepes are about the last plant to sprout in the spring along with pecans. I used to get a ladder out and do lots of snipping every February. Now, I don't bother with this, just do some occasional limbing up, and looking for crossing branches.

Thanks for the info.