Too cool! Now you need to find one that looks like the Virgin Mary or Jesus and you'll have it made!

Yes, but knowing the exact parentage and if the tree was kept true to a cultivar name, does have an affect on knowing what range of growth habit and pattern it will take. A dwarf cultivar should never end up being a 15-20 foot shrub, any more than a semi dwarf would be expected to grow to 30 feet tall or more. Also A cultivar like the CM 'Tuscarora' if grown true to proper parentage, should never turn out to be a weeping form of Crape Myrtle. So while I agree with the points your are making, BBoy, I still consider it more important to at least know a cultivar name which has generally consistant form and growth habits. If I want a full fledged single trunked 30 foot or taller potential growing CM tree or a three trunked 20-25 foot tall potential growing CM and purchased a vaguely named CM like Red Crape myrtle, I would be extremely sad to have to wait 8-10 years or so before finding out for sure that it only had the potential to grow 8-10 feet tall, or to find out even sooner if it was easily infested with the diseases and mildew problems that some CMs are not resistant to. Then again isn't it better to know how resitant the CM you purchase is to winter damage. Many of the more respected Cultivar named CMS have been tested for all the above issues, and usually perform in a reasonable expected range of the testing results, depending on the micro climate where the CM is planted.

Hmmmm...never thought of that one. These puppies are pretty gosh darn hot though. Could have crossed with something possibly.

Just to ensure equal representation.... The Sailor's Christmas Twas the night before Christmas, the ship was out steaming, Sailors stood watch while others were dreaming. They lived in a crowd with racks tight and small, In a 80-man berthing, cramped one and all. I had come down the stack with presents to give, And to see inside just who might perhaps live. I looked all about, a strange sight did I see, No tinsel, no presents, not even a tree. No stockings were hung, shined boots close at hand, On the bulkhead hung pictures of a far distant land. They had medals and badges and awards of all kind, And a sober thought came into my mind. For this place was different, so dark and so dreary, I had found the house of a Sailor, at once I saw clearly. A Sailor lay sleeping, silent and alone, Curled up in a rack and dreaming of home. The face was so gentle, the room squared away, This was the United States Sailor today. This was the hero I saw on TV, Defending our country so we could be free. I realized the families that I would visit this night, Owed their lives to these Sailors lay willing to fight. Soon round the world, the children would play, And grownups would celebrate on Christmas Day. They all enjoyed freedom each day of the year, Because of the Sailor, like the one lying here. I couldn't help wonder how many lay alone, On a cold Christmas Eve on a sea, far from home. The very thought brought a tear to my eye, I dropped to my knees and started to cry. The Sailor awakened and I heard a calm voice, "Santa, don't cry, this life is my choice." "Defending the seas all days of the year, So others may live and be free with no fear." I thought for a moment, what a difficult road, To live a life guided by honor and code. After all it's Christmas Eve and the ship's underway! But freedom isn't free and it's sailors who pay. The Sailor say's to our country "be free and sleep tight, No harm will come, not on my watch and not on this night. The Sailor rolled over and drifted to sleep, I couldn't control it, I continued to weep. I kept watch for hours, so silent, so still, I watched as the Sailor shivered from the night's cold chill. I didn't want to leave on that cold dark night, This guardian of honor so willing to fight. The Sailor rolled over and with a voice strong and sure, Commanded, "Carry on Santa, It's Christmas, and All is Secure!" HONOR, COURAGE AND COMMITMENT