[Mrs. Robinson]

Originally Posted by checkman

So wrong. There is no wrong way to trim it. I have over 100 crepe myrtles on my other property up in Ocala. Been cutting them over 20 years. Here is what I have learned.
If you don't trim them yearly, the branches grow tall and stringy by the second year.
You can't hurt them by any way you cut them. I've trimmed them with hand cutters and also a small chainsaw.
You can't hurt them if you chop them off at any length but keep in mind if you leave the knob it will be fuller.
You can trim them any time.....they are like a weed...you can not kill it. I have trimmed them before winter, during winter, spring...doesn't matter, though I usually cut them in March. I've tried to kill one by cutting it to the ground, but it doesn't work.
So do your thing and enjoy the results.

Sorry, dear sir, but you are spewing incorrect information.
You are pretty much correct when you say you can't kill them,
but how to prune them and when to prune them matters.

Your advice is completely opposite of what professionals teach, say and do.
I, as a Certified Master Gardner, will also tell you that you are giving out bad information.

There's an old saying that "Love is Blind."
Well, that may very well be the case with you over that 20 year period you mentioned.
You were blinded by the love of your crepe myrtles and could not see them in an objective light.