Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 12:32:06 PM

Is this the right time of year to prune crepe myrtle?  I am seeing them pruned in places, but I thought the time to prune them was late Feb- early March.  I'm asking because I have one that needs to be pruned to keep it from growing into another bush.  After 10 years of not pruning it, it has suddenly gotten huge.  

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 12:52:54 PM

First, I think you couldn't kill a crepe myrtle even if you pruned it back to six inches underground, lol.  Next, since they are now dormant you would probably be OK if you went ahead and pulled the trigger.  Finally, I have some at my home in Montomery and generally wait until the cold days of February to prune them.

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 1:30:10 PM

You are right about not killing them.  They are tough buggers and I have had to cut some back midsummer for a project I was doing around the house and they cam right back.  Anytime after the leaves and blooms die is fine to cut them back.  Mine here are close to the house and walk so I cut them back early fall so I don't have the mess of them shedding everywhere on my porch and walkway. So cut away and BTW I know a great tree guy.  He did several jobs in my neighborhood last year and is here today with 7 jobs in my very small neighborhood.  

Name:	MartiniMan -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 1:41:31 PM

My landscapers at home start pruning them in late December and try to finish up before the end of February.  They do a couple of them every other visit.  Seems to be a fairly wide window to get that done.

Name:	Carlson -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 3:15:02 PM

Look up Crepe Murder and you will see that these are trees and proper pruning is reserved to the lower part of the trunk.  But of course folks can try to keep them as bushes.  Any time after blooming but before Spring. 

Name:	Lifer -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 5:59:20 PM

How did this morph into killing french pasties....?  Interesting typo/auto-correct. I got a chuckle anyway.

Name:	Carlson -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 7:41:15 PM

Actually if you speak with nursery experts they use that term to refer to inappropriate pruning of a tree.  But I see your point.  I love French delicacies!  

Name:	Talullahhound -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 9:21:52 PM

Mine has turned into a huge tree - and I need to have some limbs cut off low - and it did grow over the walk way to the porch and we had bees in them all the time.  I'd like to keep part of it big, because the birds like to see on the limbs to wait their turn at the feeder.  I've got a River Birch that also needs trimming.  It has gotten so big that the limbs are scraping the roof.

I have never seen the way things grow down here.  I need a pruner/trimmer every six months.  When i moved here, I had never seen azaleas as big as they grown down here.  

Name:	MrHodja -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 10:33:59 PM (updated 1/16/2020 10:34:56 PM)

I have frequently observed crepe myrtles pruned to nothing but four or five naked "stobs", cut off below any branches, and they come back like gangbusters, sprouting multiple branches from each "stob".  Prune to your heart's desire...they will come back and you will have to do it again.

And yes, this climate and soil are VERY conducive to prolific, verdant growth. 

Name:	Bamanole -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/16/2020 10:54:04 PM

And the “stobs” all become huge ugly knots. Crepe Murder at its finest. I’m no horticulturist, but I hate seeing them pruned this way and it’s too prevalent on government owned and some business properties. IMO, it’s best to leave 3-4 main trunks to grow naturally, pruning side branches off these to a desired height, then working within the canopy to get crossed and spindley branches out. It is a tree, after all.

Name:	lucky67 -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/17/2020 4:51:22 PM

I always prune late Feb-earlyMarch

Name:	CRD -	Reply
Subject:	Pruning Crepe Myrtle
Date:	1/18/2020 8:19:36 AM

I agree, Walter Reeves has always said no crepe pruning until Feb 1.