Crape Myrtle pruning
 

I have a Crape Myrtle that's about 20 ft. tall that desperately needs professional pruning. Recommendations, please!

Can't give a recommendation on who can do it, but recall that where we moved from they were pruned in February. Not sure if it matters if it's done earlier than that or not.

Whoever you find to do it, make sur they use a cutting shears, instead of a chain saw on a pole.

My landscaper just advised us on the trimming of our crepe myrtles. His guys really know what they''re doing. It's Jamie's Landscaping. I thought the trimming price to be a bit high, but I have nothing to compare it to yet. I do know they're knowledgeable and competent, though.

Don't prune it until it goes dormant, probably around late January or early February. And please don't let them commit "crape murder" by cutting it back severely. Generally, you should only trim branches back by about a third of their length. You can also remove entire branches to shape the tree and allow better air flow.

Call Wayne Seltzer of Classic Yard Maintenance.. He is amazing. He scapes nearly our entire community and is a wealth of USEFUL knowledge. Tell him The Ronnie's Goldman sent you. Wayne is great. No chemicals.... pulls weeds by hand. Great work.

And do not let them commit crepe murder.....thaT is when they cut them so far back there is nothing but stubs left.

I abide by the guide line to not remove anything larger than a pencil in diameter.

The other essential is common sense as usual.

btk

BTK, for those of us with no common sense and little knowledge of what to do with 9a plants, what is crape murder? I have a feeling that is what my landscaper is suggesting. He said to trim everything back to 6 feet (it's a new tree) so it will bush out next season. That would mean leaving about four inches of every single branch. Is that called pollarding?

What would the alternative form of trimming involve?

This is crape murder. It results in weak branches and a deformed tree. Only trim the last third of any branches, or, as BTK advises, nothing thicker than a pencil. It will result in a full crown with bountiful blooms. Note that none of TV crape myrtles are trimmed excessively.

Thank you. That's what I thought. And I have indeed noticed that none of the TV crape myrtles are trimmed that way.

Do you know of a trimmer I can hire who espouses this philosophy? (I don't want my ligustrums lollipopped, either.)