How to prune a crape myrtle by Habersham Gardens

You’ve been witness to it. We all have. It’s called crape murder and, although not a felony offense, it is a crime against nature. What should be graceful arching branches are cut off at their knuckles forcing them to shoot straight up into a spray of thin stems often too weak to support the coming blooms. Add a little rain to the equation and snap!, those long branches and beautiful blossoms become a fading memory. By following a few simple and correct pruning steps, your crape myrtle is likely to double its flowering from year to year and the new healthy branches will not have trouble supporting those glorious blooms. Timing If you prune a crape myrtle too early, you run the risk of a late winter warming trend tricking them into producing new growth resulting in damage should cold, harsh weather follow. Wait too long and you run the danger of clipping new growth and summer blooms. In Atlanta, we advise thinning your crape myrtles back by approximately one-third in February. How-to Be sure to clip the small suckers at the base and twigs growing along all main branches as well as any leggy side branches growing from the main trunk. Eliminate all dead growth and inspect for branches that cross or rub against one another. Judge and remove those branches selectively all the way to their base in order to eliminate the friction while keeping an eye on the form as you go.  Then, beginning on the outer edge, follow the stem to where it meets a main branch and make a cut approximately 6” up from that intersection. Continue this technique working through to the other side of the tree. Your proper pruning will result in new, healthy branches emerging into a beautiful graceful habit just as nature intended. Should you need assistance with pruning your crape myrtles, contact William at wmcmullen@habershamgardens.com for a complimentary estimate. [slideshow id=2 w=440]