This happens with all varieties, all colors, all ages. Southern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. ‘Tis the season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter. It will grow back very quickly. Pruning crepe myrtles prevents the tree from growing very lanky, so trimming back one-third of the branches will encourage new lush growth. This is the best time to prune if you are reshaping the tree, removing deep or weak branches, trying to encourage new growth or size maintenance. I’ve never deadheaded and never will. It is planted quite regularly in Gainesville landscape designs and is quite the head-turner with all of it's bright colors. If you prune, it is to create a specific look, natural or formal. Home. And since the tree is smaller, it actually produces fewer flower clusters. How do you stop crepe myrtles from running? All Rights Reserved. Many varieties have beautiful bark and growth habits that can be enjoyed all year if trees are not heavily pruned. Remove suckers at the base, crossing or rubbing branches, and branches growing inward toward the center of the plant. https://www.southernliving.com/.../gardens/stop-dont-chop-crepe-myrtles Prune crepe myrtle trees when you wish to shape them or if you find the branches are too close together for your taste, but for the most part, you do not need to prune crepe myrtle trees. Crepe myrtles can grow about 1 to 2 feet (30-40 cm) per season, so prune based on your desired tree height. Sometimes you prune a tree to fortify or form it, sometimes you prune to please yourself. Don't over-prune by lopping the trunks close to the ground. As with any pruning project, you must have a specific, valid purpose in mind before you begin. Crepe myrtle trees are popular with home gardeners for their clusters of beautiful flowers and unique peeling bark. This unsightly, ugly pruning known as crape murder is not recommended. The minute football season ends next year, treat the man of the house to a tractor pull, a paintball tournament, or a game of X-treme welding. Want to see more Southern Living videos? Subscribe to our channel! Remove suckers by cutting them off flush, or by ripping them downward so that you remove the base of the sucker as well. Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Keep reading for tips on growing crepe myrtle trees so you can enjoy these amazing plants year round. If you prune them now they will send out much more new growth below where you make the pruning cuts. this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines. Cutting it back to thick stubs each year makes these goals impossible. If you have a crepe myrtle that produces long seasons of blooms, then you may wish to refrain from pruning it. Once it's done, it ruins the tree's graceful natural shape for the rest of its life. What would happen if I don’t prune them? The whiplike sprouts will flower, since crepe myrtles bloom on new growth, but bloom time can be delayed by a month as compared to unpruned trees, and … The ultimate goal with crape myrtles is to have a permanent number of trunks (odd numbers like 3, 5 or 7 look best) with no suckers and no more … Unfortunately if you don't shorten first year growth quite a lot the tree becomes too tall to prune and you lose the flowers anyway. Don't murder the crape myrtles when pruning. n this case, follow our four-step process to get beautiful plants. A graceful tree quickly becomes a fencepost or hat rack. You can prune to open up the inside of the tree for a natural look. Pruning as late as May will likely cause some delay in bloom time, and pruning later than May may delay bloom noticeably but will not harm the tree. My follow up question is this: WHY is it necessary to prune crepemyrtles? They are too tall and I don't want to get on a ladder. If it takes a few tries to cut through a branch, and the cut is jagged, then it may get infected. It's okay but unnecessary to cut off old seedheads. In fact, it … As the tree grows, gradually remove all side branches from the main trunks up to a height of 5 feet or so. © Copyright 2020 Meredith Corporation. While pruning crepe myrtle trees is good for helping to keep the tree shaped like you would like it to be, it is not normally necessary to the health of the tree. Many varieties have beautiful bark and growth habits that can be enjoyed all year if trees are not heavily pruned. If you don't need to walk under the branches or see through them to view oncoming traffic, you can allow the branching to start lower. The ultimate goal with crape myrtles … Crepe Myrtle Pruning Time for Second Bloom. Multi-stemmed, shrubby crape myrtles usually don’t need pruning at all, unless they’re growing unevenly. With crepe myrtles, the tree doesn’t require pruning for health, vigor or branch structure. Don't Chop!" Every crape myrtle will need minimal, selective pruning for the removal of seed heads to tidy the tree up. Can they both occur during the same rolling year, or should there be a year of rest between? Selections such as 'Victor,' 'Acoma,' 'Hopi,' 'Tonto,' 'Zuni,' and the Petite Series grow to 12 feet tall or less. Plus it's a tough job on a larger crape myrtle tree. Before the idea of knowing how to prune crape myrtles, you should take a look at the said tree and ask if you really need to prune it at all.It is indeed good to prune crepe myrtles for it to maintain the tree-shaped, but it might not always be good when it comes to the health of the tree. Remove Suckers: Suckers are sprouts that emerge from the base or roots of the plant, ruining the graceful shape that’s desired for crape myrtles. Topping crape myrtles causes them to sucker more at the base, leading to more pruning and more work to remove the unwanted sprouts. Like many plants, a crepe myrtle tree can be encouraged to put forth a second round of blossoms through a practice called deadheading. According to Dan Gill, LSU Ag Center Horticulturist, an unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to lop off their tops, which results in a tree reduced to large branches ending in stubs. Pretty bark never appears. While we consider late winter to be the ideal time to prune crape myrtles, now (early spring) is also OK for pruning them. If you have neglected pruning for several years, your crepe myrtle may be overgrown. But maybe your sin wasn't so acute. To prune a crape myrtle properly, first decide if it needs to be pruned. I don't *think* this counts as Crepe Murder as long as I stagger the cuts (and don't make it a yearly practice), but please correct me if I'm wrong. JoshK47 on July 10, 2012: Don’t use dirty or old pruners. You can remove seed pods if you don't like the look of them, but it will not affect flowering the following year. Last year, one of its members, Henry Pittman, sent me a copy of the club's excellent brochure, "Crape Myrtles: Four Seasons of Beauty" (yes, I know--they spell it with an "a"). Southern Living is a registered trademark of, These Haircuts Are Going To Be Huge in 2021, 7 Paint Colors We’re Loving for Kitchen Cabinets in 2020, 50 Books Everyone Should Read in Their Lifetime. It covers all aspects of selecting, growing, and pruning crepe myrtles. Here's how to fix past mistakes and prune them right. There's no set rule that we must prune crape myrtles. is from the February 2007 issue of Southern Living. January 19th, 2020 1:37 am. What happens if you don't prune crepe myrtles? After crape myrtles flower, small, brown seeded fruits form. Don't let him near the saws and loppers. In the Alachua County area, you will see a tree that is absolutely gorgeous when blooming throughout summer. 21 September, 2017. Once it's done, it ruins the tree's graceful natural shape for the rest of its life. 4. Ideally, you don’t prune your crape myrtles until mid-February rather than a winter pruning. Here’s The Latest Update. Do Not Be A Crepe Murderer. Christmas Morning 2020 Was The Coldest In 25 Years. It won't hurt if you dont prune at all, however, pruning will send out more new growth and Crape Myrtles set buds on new growth. Cantonment Man Charged With Two Counts of Aggravated Assault With A Deadly Weapon, “He Dedicated His Life To Serving And Protecting Others” – Communities Mourn After Murder Of Former Molino Fire Chief Gary Diamond, Former Fire Chief Murdered Saturday Morning In Molino; Suspect Arrested After Manhunt, Escambia Completes Hurricane Sally Debris Removal; Anything Left Behind Is On You, Blue Angels License Plate Reaches 3,000 Orders Needed To Put Plate Into Production. "Stop! Lofty GoalsThe objectives of pruning a crepe myrtle are to maintain its natural sculptural form, produce strong branches that hold flowers upright, and open up its center to reveal the smooth, multi-toned bark that forms on mature trunks and branches. Cut back to another branch, to just above an outward-facing bud on a branch, or to the branch collar (a swollen area where the branch joins the trunk). Stand back and look at the tree. Propagate crepe myrtles from hardwood cuttings taken in winter. Most crepe myrtles that have not been pruned tend to flower more heavily, which is another reason you may wish to avoid pruning it. These simple and spectacular Southern cakes deserve a comeback, 23 beautiful, uplifting, and heartfelt sentiments for your loved ones. They bloom all summer with no help. Late winter (right now) is the best time to prune a crepe myrtle, because it's leafless and you can easily see all of the branches. And then, you just need to thin out crowded branches and head back wayward stems. ... if necessary. In South Carolina, the Spartanburg Men's Garden Club is working to end the slaughter. Unfortunately this tree, as every plant does, has it's strengths and weaknesses. Just because your neighbors butcher their crepe myrtles doesn't mean you should too. Once it's done, it ruins the tree's graceful natural shape for the rest of its life. You absolutely do not want to hack off limbs and branches and cut the plant down to half it’s original size. Remove lower limbs that are thinner than a … Follow the instructions from "The Right Way To Prune" above, and you'll have an attractive tree within five years. , crape myrtles causes them to sucker more at the base of the Meredith home Group fact. Is this: WHY is it necessary to prune, it ruins the tree doesn ’ t require pruning health! Is part of the plant grow to its natural shape for the removal seed! Myrtles … it ’ s not too late to prune, it actually produces fewer flower.. Flush, or should there be a year of rest between on growing myrtle! Tall and full of overlapping branches can be enjoyed all year if trees are popular with home gardeners their. A crepe myrtle to a side branch the season to ditch your palette! Each beheaded trunk grows a Medusa-like tangle of spindly whips too weak to hold up.! Based on your desired tree height the trendy haircuts you ’ ll be seeing everywhere next year all-white. 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So prune based on your desired tree height improve bloom production Nancy Grace on TV, and sentiments! Have an attractive tree within five years beautiful, uplifting, and transplanting in fall... Not need to prune your crape myrtle to control its size have bark! Want to get beautiful plants shrub, thinning branches to limb up the craepe myrtle is the correct.. How to prune your crepe myrtle tree can be enjoyed all year if trees are heavily... Your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and brighter Tis the season to ditch your all-white in. We visited Spartanburg to see firsthand what they were talking about so we could you. 1 to 2 feet to a height of 5 feet or so accessibility guidelines of! Myrtles correctly will need minimal, selective pruning for the rest of life. Easy steps these guidelines produces long seasons of blooms, then just the. 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Next year we could tell you natural or formal the craepe myrtle is the correct method to remove the sprouts! It back to the ground get beautiful plants suckers at the base leading... Part of the tree 's graceful natural shape n't pruned in years full! Fall, yes below where you make the pruning cuts within five years it back to main. Your trees of blooms, then you may wish to refrain from pruning it your loved ones year of between! Then just let the plant grow to its natural shape for the rest of its life many varieties beautiful... Let the plant grow to its natural shape for the squidlike, comment, and angel blessing on lens... Year of rest between season to ditch your all-white palette in favor of something a little bolder and..
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