Crapemyrtles are LOVELY!! According to the U.S Arboretum."If you select the right crapemyrtle for the size of the space where it will grow, you will only have to do minor pruning. Remove small twiggy branches inside the plant to promote good air circulation. You can gradually remove lower branches or suckers that grow from the base of the trunk if you want the plant to be a small tree. If you are dealing with an older plant that has been neglected, a heavier hand may be needed. Remove any dead branches and cut the living branches back slightly to promote more vigorous growth that results in better flowering.
Crapemyrtles are often injured in bitterly cold winters near the northern edge of their range and they are naturally one of the last of the deciduous ornamentals to begin growth in spring. It’s difficult to tell the extent of cold damage until growth begins, so wait until late spring or early summer to prune. Never prune crapemyrtles in the fall or winter, since it compromises their cold hardiness.
Crapemyrtles bloom on the current season’s growth, so they can be pruned in the spring and will still flower normally throughout the summer. Larger, heavier flower clusters and rank growth often result when the branches are cut back severely, and these flowers are often so heavy that they bend toward the ground. For this reason, we do not recommend the practice of pollarding or cutting the branches back to stubs every year. "
We have a tree and it has become quite scraggley looking with very few blooms, it has grown from 6' tall when first planted 6 years ago, it's now close to 20' tall with too many offshoots.
please don't murder your myrtle. I clip off sprouts the cone out around the bottom of the tree. Unless a branch is growing up against something I don't prune.
I have always heard that trimming Crape Myrtles and roses on Valentine's Day. Crape Myrtles bloom best on new growth I have heard so pruning heavily in February will help new growth in early Summer.
I have had several Crape Myrtles for years...I do not prune them in the fall and instead I wait till spring and I wait till all of the branches are leafed out and then those branches that don't produce new leaves, then I prune them off.. this works real well...
I keep the shoots pulled off. My tree looks sleek on the bottom. On my tree, other than keeping the shoots pulled off, I don't do anything to it. It is too tall for me to reach. It has many blooms. A maple tree is growing up through the middle of it. I wish I had let my husband cut it out, but I thought it was a neat look.
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Crapemyrtles are LOVELY!! According to the U.S Arboretum."If you select the right crapemyrtle for the size of the space where it will grow, you will only have to do minor pruning. Remove small twiggy branches inside the plant to promote good air circulation. You can gradually remove lower branches or suckers that grow from the base of the trunk if you want the plant to be a small tree. If you are dealing with an older plant that has been neglected, a heavier hand may be needed. Remove any dead branches and cut the living branches back slightly to promote more vigorous growth that results in better flowering.
Crapemyrtles are often injured in bitterly cold winters near the northern edge of their range and they are naturally one of the last of the deciduous ornamentals to begin growth in spring. It’s difficult to tell the extent of cold damage until growth begins, so wait until late spring or early summer to prune. Never prune crapemyrtles in the fall or winter, since it compromises their cold hardiness.
Crapemyrtles bloom on the current season’s growth, so they can be pruned in the spring and will still flower normally throughout the summer. Larger, heavier flower clusters and rank growth often result when the branches are cut back severely, and these flowers are often so heavy that they bend toward the ground. For this reason, we do not recommend the practice of pollarding or cutting the branches back to stubs every year. "
Good luck, Post pictures!
Late fall, if you have the bush. I do not prune my trees, only my bushes. I cut them back very close.
please don't murder your myrtle. I clip off sprouts the cone out around the bottom of the tree. Unless a branch is growing up against something I don't prune.
I have always heard that trimming Crape Myrtles and roses on Valentine's Day. Crape Myrtles bloom best on new growth I have heard so pruning heavily in February will help new growth in early Summer.
I have had several Crape Myrtles for years...I do not prune them in the fall and instead I wait till spring and I wait till all of the branches are leafed out and then those branches that don't produce new leaves, then I prune them off.. this works real well...
I keep the shoots pulled off. My tree looks sleek on the bottom. On my tree, other than keeping the shoots pulled off, I don't do anything to it. It is too tall for me to reach. It has many blooms. A maple tree is growing up through the middle of it. I wish I had let my husband cut it out, but I thought it was a neat look.
never or all the way to the ground in winter. It ruins the plant if you just cut back the limbs. It is called crepe murder.