[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.