It seems that everyone knows that crape myrtle trees require
pruning every year, and almost everyone knows that the time to do it is during
the dormant period.
Unfortunately, it is clear from seeing all the stunted crape myrtle
branches growing from knobby crape myrtle trunks, the vast majority of
crape myrtle owners are doing more harm than good by improper pruning techniques.
Without complicating
the matter by sharing the wrong way of doing it, here is the right way in six
short steps:
1.
Do your crape myrtle pruning in late winter or early spring. If you haven't done it yet, now is the time!
2.
Remove the suckers. Suckers are the little branches that grew last season from
odd places at the base of the trunk.
3.
Measure up about four or five feet from the base of the tree. Any smaller
branches growing below that line, from any of the main trunks, should be removed.
4.
Select all the branches, also known as “leads,” that are growing toward the
center of the tree or in odd directions. Remember that the objective is to
encourage the growth of leads that spread outward to create that beautiful
canopy of crepe-like flowers in summer. So keep the leads that lend their
directional growing course to meet that objective, and thin out the rest.
5.
To thin out the branches you have marked for removal, cut them at the point
where they grow from the larger branch or trunk with a nice clean cut flush
with the larger branch, without leaving a knobby stub.
6.
Most importantly, do not “top off” your crape myrtle. If you want to control the height of
your crepe myrtle you may cut the leads back to the same height as the shorter
leads at the height that you want to encourage.
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