Crape Myrtle

[420benz]

Should I prune these young plants? If so how far down?

 

[Chuck]

Should I prune these young plants? If so how far down?

You should NEVER prune a crepe myrtle except at the base IF one of the "trunks" is growing astray and yours looks perfect. They are a multitrunked tree and to cut the trunks at any distance is called Crepe Murder. When buying a crepe myrtle purchase a variety that will not grow too tall for the space it is planted in. Leave it alone

 

[Silentrunning]

Chuck, I was given the exact same advice from our county extension agent in south Florida. I had 8 Crepe Myrtles along my property line and the were getting shabby looking. Year after year I let them go with no trimming other than dead branches. Finally my wife told me to trim them or pull them out because they were embarrassing. I trimmed them back severely and snapped the branches into a ball as best as I could.
The first year after this I had very few flowers but the plants filled in with leaves. The second year they were loaded with flowers and looked great. Mine were the shrub type not the tree type.

 

[Chuck]

Chuck, I was given the exact same advice from our county extension agent in south Florida. I had 8 Crepe Myrtles along my property line and the were getting shabby looking. Year after year I let them go with no trimming other than dead branches. Finally my wife told me to trim them or pull them out because they were embarrassing. I trimmed them back severely and snapped the branches into a ball as best as I could.
The first year after this I had very few flowers but the plants filled in with leaves. The second year they were loaded with flowers and looked great. Mine were the shrub type not the tree type.

What I am saying is that to cut the trunk at any place is wrong. Pruning out limbs, and, to somewhat shaping limbs is OK. Topping a crepe myrtle makes it look like a pompom on a poodles head. I am sure you have seen a crepe myrtle that looks like a bare trunk with a ball on top. This is not what a crepe myrtle is supposed to look like.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Do not trim them. I will post a pic of mature ones we have down the driveway tomorrow.

 

[allpurpose]

I suppose it depends on your location. Here where I live , Columbia SC they're more a nuisance plant when they go to seed and start popping up all over the yard and can really get out of hand. If I even try to trim them back 10 new shoots pop up and over the summer will often grow 10-15 feet from the ground up.
Last year I cut down a 20 foot crape myrtle tree beside the back deck. (about 5 feet below the deck floor) It was blocking the view of the back yard. By early July this year the new shoots had already grown 6 feet above the deck railing. It's outrageous!
On the other hand I potted a young crape myrtle 2 years ago and to this day it's only about 6 inches above the top of the pot. (limiting the depth the roots can grow making my own version of a bonsai crape myrtle) If I had left it to grow in the ground it would likely be 10 feet tall at least by now.

 

[Chuck]

There are literally hundreds of varieties of crepe myrtles. From bush types to trees. From a maximum height of 3 feet to 40+ feet. Colors from white to dark purple and many in between. Crepe myrtles are beautiful plants and most people just go out and buy a plant without understanding what it will be when it is mature. If you don't want problems later on understand what you are buying.

 

[DirtMechanic]

I slipped and did not post in Feb so here go

. These crepes were used for the initial shade when we bought the house. None of the trees existed then, we planted them all, for better or worse, because when they come down it is a lot of work.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

How to prune Step by Step

 

[danieljamar]

Should I prune these young plants? If so how far down?

Crepe Myrtles are virtually indestructible, however, if left unpruned they will become shabby with dead branches. the one in my pic got shabby and i chopped it down to a quarter of its height. I have another one that was completely cut down even to the ground 9 years ago and now each year i prune it in half, it is currently 12 ft.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Here is the result of hard pruning a tightly spaced group of crepe myrtle.