Crepe myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, vary in size from dwarf shrubs to multi-trunked and single-trunk trees growing to 30 feet tall. Most varieties produce beautiful blooms starting in spring or ...
In the picture above, it's obvious that something has gone wrong. When you drive past a heavily pruned crepe myrtle tree (occasionally spelled "crape myrtle") your impression might be that someone ...
I usually wait until mid-January to write something on this topic but this week I saw my first severe pruning of a crape myrtle for this dormant season earlier this month. So, instead of visions of ...
Over the past couple of weeks, fellow gardeners have asked that I explain how to prune crepe myrtles, as I often complain (to anyone that will listen) about neighbors following neighbors' poor pruning ...
Timing is everything when it comes to pruning a crape myrtle. So when is it too late to prune crape myrtles if you want blooms in the summer? Along with not cutting off next year’s flowers, your ...
Among the many mistakes everyone makes when growing crepe myrtle, improper care during the winter is the nail in the coffin that will kill your beautiful, blooming trees. Crepe myrtle trees ...
As a rule, trees in North Florida can be pruned any time of year. However, the winter months seem to bring out the pruning bug in many folks. Winter can be an easier time to prune as many trees have ...
Somehow, the belief that crape myrtles should be brutally pruned by cutting off their tops persists, even though it's inaccurate. Crape murder is a term that has been coined to describe this severe ...
What makes crape myrtle such a fabulous tree is that, contrary to popular belief, they need minimal maintenance and near zero pruning. Nevertheless, every year crape myrtles are needlessly cut by ...