HELP - Crepe myrtles

[G.Radice]

Just a quick brief. I recently purchased my mother's home. When she moved in they had planted a crepe myrtle pretty close to the house and in a small yard. It's really not pretty right now so I would love some advice on how to prune it. I did some trimming here and there to give it some shape, but I am not sure if it's going to work out or if I am going to have to rip it up. Any advice would be appreciated.
I have certainly looked on youtube, but I would like some personalized advice. I will attach a few pictures.

 

[Marck]

Greetings, welcome to the Forums.

If you want your Crepe-myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) to be a more full and well-branched small tree then do not prune it anymore for the next year or two. Without such drastic pruning, each year more side brances will grow in and the tree will become fuller.

Conversely, if you find the plant too tall, you could cut it back much harder, and let it re-sprout from the base as a shrub. If you go this route, check your Crepe-myrtle for any grafts at both the base and top of the main trunk. Avoid cutting below any graft union, if there is one or two. Actually, you could cut below it, but the rootstock will likely give you different-colored flowers and perhaps other differing traits. In any case, a Crepe-myrtle shrub can be more easily kept to a low height by pruning.