[perrjojo]

I hate to see Crepe Murder and Crepe Rape. However, it's your tree so if you want to mutilate it, that's your choice.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

Yes -- I have seen it with my own eyes. My guess is that 95% of the residents here have either hacked their crepe myrtle themselves,
or had their landscape person (I use that term very loosely) do it. Very sad because they have possibly ruined the form of their tree.

There is a difference between pruning a shrub or tree or hacking it to death. The latter is what you will mostly see as you drive and walk around the community.
This is the time of year when a crepe myrtle should be pruned and not the fall or during the winter. But making a crepe myrtle look like a hat rack is shameful.

A crepe myrtle should be pruned similarly to the way a rose bush is pruned.
Think of it as a cup.The inside should be open to let in sunlight and to prevent branches from touching one another.
Clip off all suckers as the base. Better yet -- I'm attaching a video from Southern Living's Grumpy Gardner that will tell you exactly what to do -- and what not do!

http://search.aol.com/aol/video?q=gr...yword_rollover

Now . . . After you watch the above video, click on the video next to that one which will tell you how to fix the damage you've already done.

I'm far from an expert but-
It seems to me in this video he is leaving far larger stubs then I do. His stumps look to be 1/2 an inch long I try to make mine about half that. When, I use bypass pruning sheers or lopping sheers I always have the cutting blade turned toward the trunk or the part of the branch that will be left behind.

I do not know what variety I have as it was planted by the builder. It was about 7-8 foot high three years ago and it is now about 10 foot high. No trouble to prune on a ladder or with my pole pruner.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

Pruning crape myrtles: Clemson University extension (with pictures!)
HGIC 1009 Crape Myrtle Pruning
: Extension : Clemson University : South Carolina

I am trimming the interior branches of my c. myrtle trying to do it the way this article suggests (took me longer than expected to take a picture).

Compared to the instructions you attached and the video in the original post, your crape myrtle could use a fair amount of pruning to open it up.

[Bjeanj]

Originally Posted by suesiegel

Compared to the instructions you attached and the video in the original post, your crape myrtle could use a fair amount of pruning to open it up.

I agree. My hands can take only so much at a time.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by IADCathy

Thanks for this!!!! My husband and I did notice other neighbors' crepe myrtles and wondered if what they did is what we should be doing because ours never seem to have an abundance of flowers. We will follow the Grumpy Gardner's advice!

Thanks again, Cathy

1. They may have a different variety.
2. Yours might be getting hit with lawn fertilizer. The high nitrogen will cause more leaf growth then flowers.

[RickeyD]

I would put bad Myrtle pruning on my short list of not a big deal. Do-it-yourselfer stacking walls with no homeowner concept of level or plumb make it to my top 3 eye sores.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Robinson

When a crepe myrtle is tree-like, as opposed to a shrub, any branches that grow inward or are touching other branches should be removed.
Also, if the branches are too dense in the middle, some of them should be thinned out so that more light/sun can penetrate through the branches.

What I've stated above is correct and just for the record,
where did you read that Mother Nature said crepe myrtles should never be pruned???

Yeah. That's what I thought!

Many, in fact most of the plants we grow are not found in nature. Corn which is about 60% of our food calories-fed to animals in addition to the little bit we eat, cannot even live in the wild. Wild corn has been hybridized for centuries. I does grow wild but, we would not even know what it is. Citrus can be found wild. It is loaded with seeds and far more bitter than we would want to eat. There are some wild or semi wild pecan trees around. I expect they were planted from seeds rather then a grafted cutting. In any case the nuts are less than half the size of what we are used to.

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

I agree. My hands can take only so much at a time.

Not sure what you have said.
If, you are finding pruning any plant requires a great deal of strength, you are either using the wrong tool, using a dull tool, using a low quality tool or using the tool incorrectly.

First of all, you should have a set of hand pruners, a set of lopping pruners-long handle types, To sharpen a set of pruning sheers-look it up on the internet if, you have never done it. The angles are important. To shallow an angle will be sharper but with the pressure the blade will quickly dull.
You can find some very inexpensive tools. There is a reason they are cheeeeep. Good tools will last a lifetime if well cared for. My pruning sheers belonged to my grandmother. I don't think they are that old but the patent date is 1898 and I've used them for ?????? 40 years.
Once you have good tools and they are sharp, realize when you cut meat to eat you do not push the knife straight down and expect it to cut, you slide the knife. With a slight turning motion of your wrist as you make a cut, you will find you get a much better cut and it takes less effort.
If, you as I do will be cutting branches into small pieces and putting them into one of those bags, try starting at the end of the branch-let the tree hold it and then make the final cut at the trunk

The trip of a thousand miles starts with the first step.
Find out what you can do-10-20 or and do that every day.
It is getting hot-best time to work is morning or evening.

HAPPY DAYS

[autumnspring]

Originally Posted by Rapscallion St Croix

Mother Nature never intended them to be pruned at all so any method is incorrect.

There is nothing NATURAL about our landscaping.
Heck, most of the plants we grow have been created through hybridizing by man.

[Bjeanj]

Suesiegel, thanks for the super tips. I never had a real lesson in lopping, and I have not been doing it correctly, and possibly with unsharpened tools. Much appreciated!

[Bjeanj]

I added an "after" picture of the large crepe myrtle in the forefront after I trimmed it (see post #13). Thoughts? Suggestions before I do any others?

[graciegirl]

Here is one of ours. We think how we raise our Crepe Myrtle and our children is our own decision.

However we think this one is lookin' good.

"Bonanza" - music theme - Bing video

[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by Bjeanj

I added an "after" picture of the large crepe myrtle in the forefront after I trimmed it (see post #13). Thoughts? Suggestions before I do any others?

You are on the right track, Bjeanj.
Although much larger in stature, crepe myrtles should be trimmed much like a rose bush with the center open and new growth on the outside of each branch.

Originally Posted by graciegirl

Here is one of ours. We think how we raise our Crepe Myrtle and our children is our own decision.

However we think this one is a Bonanza.

In a previous comment I mentioned that it is virtually impossible to kill a crepe myrtle, regardless of how someone prunes it.

That being said, there is still a correct way to do it.

How someone raises their crepe myrtle and their children is certainly one's own decision.
However, I have seen many crepe myrtles pruned correctly by parents and their kids are hellions.

[graciegirl]

Mrs. Robinson, you remind me of a person who used to post on this forum who was a master gardener. I bet you are too.

[ColdNoMore]

Not personally being an arborist, I'm wondering if a crepe myrtle is actually murdered (even if it's second degree), can it then be cut down, processed and repurposed into... crepe paper?