Does anybody know if the USDA has released any new Ebony Crapemyrtles since the original five were released in 2013?

No. The original five are all the USDA has released.

http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...

There are several new child plants of this series that have entered the market. These three are recently released by J. Berry Nursery and were bred from the Ebony series:

Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Black Diamond® Shell Pink™)
Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Black Diamond® Purely Purple™)
Crepe Myrtle (Lagerstroemia Black Diamond® Mystic Magenta™)

There are numerous others, too. I have personally developed several new colors (a watermelon and a purple) from the Ebony series but those currently only exist in my garden.

So a nursery ( I do not know if I can name names; so I won't), is advertising an "Ebony Rose Crapemyrtle". They say it is a recent release by the US National Arboretum, but I cannot find anything about the Ebony Rose, nor can I find anything to suggest a second release from the USDA. Any ideas?

Actually, I just realized that we are putting Black Diamond's name on the forum, so I guess it is OK. Here is a link to Garden Debut; http://www.gardendebut.com/pla....

Yes, it's perfectly fine to name company's in this forum.

That's an interesting claim that Garden Debut is making. I just now sent an email to Dr. Pounders (the developer of the five original Ebony crepe myrtles) asking him whether this 'Ebony Rose' is his creation or not. I'll reply here when I get a response.

Well, my email to Dr. Pounders bounced. I'm contacting a few others that may know.

I asked Allen Owings (research coordinator at LSU AgCenter) and he said:

Looks like garden debut has the white, blush, and two of the reds (there are three, as you know) and this "NEW" one. Sure looks like the Ebony Pink to me. The agreement between USDA and Dr Pounders and MS State was that Ebony Pink was not released and is not supposed to be in the trade or being sold - at least that is my understanding but a few people do have plants of it.

I wonder if the Ebony Pink is not released yet because it is still being tested, or if it failed to meet standards and was never supposed to be released.

I wondered that, too, and don't know.

When I looked at the link Greg posted, there was a list on the right side that included "meet the breeder." When clicked on. it takes you to the listings for the Ebony Crapemyrtles and at the top of the page the name Dow Whiting. No other info, but as Dave said, Dr Cecil Pounders is the developer of the original Ebony series.