Crape Myrtle

[RxPain-]

Planted this 2 years ago and it’s about 7 foot. Question when trimming young crape myrtle. Do you leave the leaves/flowers going all the way up or remove near split? Some of the branches are drooping cause they weight so I trimmed but is there a general rule as to how many flowers to take off?

 

[Chuck]

The only thing I would remove is LOW HORIZONTAL LIMBS.

 

[Meadowlark]

Deadheading is very effective on crape myrtle....if you want more and deeper blooms.

Pruning is pretty much a personal preference on how you want the plant shaped...as a tree or as multi-branched bush or something in between.

My approach is to take out suckers coming up from the base and all side branches growing from the main trunks up to a height of at least 4 feet and all higher branches growing inward towards the center of the tree.

 

[DirtMechanic]

Our Crapes will grow agressively where they are cut. We let them go uncut for fast shade down the driveway. They can get really big. I do not believe 40-50 feet is an exaggeration. Where I trim they branch. I would suggest settling on a suitable size and shape and work to keep them in that form. The root is well established now so even severe cutting will bush back out.

 

[LouisFerdinand]

Pruning Crape Myrtle Step by Step