But.....with Crepe Murder, also called "knuckling", don't the branches wind up with those large round knots which is what the knuckling is referring to? I don't want our Crepe Myrtles to have those large knuckles. I just have the old seeds pruned off in late February. The trees fill in very nicely and look quite lovely in the summer months.

Yes, it will grow back but the beautiful shape will never be the same. Just because many people murder their crape myrtles it does not mean it is the right way to maintain them. There is a reason arborists say to never commit crape murder.

How can crepe myrtle stubble be more attractive than the tree???????? I don't get it!

here's how the same trees look in blossom,,, ea yrheight increases 4" or 5",,, of course they'll also bloom if left 'unknuckled' but it does take longer here in no atlanta
we trim in february & trees don't mind a bit evidently

To belabor the point, that is what I don't like about knuckled trees. They shoot long fronds out like suckers look at the base of a tree. They don't look graceful like the trees that are left alone. I much prefer to leave them alone and just prune errant branches like one does with other types of trees.


Knuckling is big in Europe, but mainly because their old plane and some other trees are so massive they become a problem for adjacent buildings. And it isn't necessarily done every year. When it is done in the spring, it's August before these trees fill back out. You lose a whole summer of shade.