Too early to prune crape myrtles?

[JerseyRebel]

I’m in middle Tennessee and want to get rid of some branches to make the trunks appear longer and take some weight off the canopy. There is alot of blooms and the wind is really making it sway. The last thing i want is for the tree to split. I have a gardening strap around all the trunks but it is still swaying. I guess they around 12ft now and the trunks are still thin. Days are around 80-85. Sometimes higher but the nights are down to the 50’s and 60’s. Is it too early to prune some branches off?

 

[cpp gardener]

No, it is not too early. For the kind of pruning you are talking about you can do any time.

 

[JerseyRebel]

No, it is not too early. For the kind of pruning you are talking about you can do any time.

Thank you very much

 

[oneeye]

Wow, your crepe myrtle looks beautiful, friend. The branches are competing with each other, and that's why they are top-heavy with thin stems. If you remove two of the trunks, the other three will become thicker. Tying the branches is a no-no and will cause the plant to become more unstable. Instead of cutting the flowers off the top thin down to only one stalk in the end for the stongest trunk.

 

[JerseyRebel]

Wow, your crepe myrtle looks beautiful, friend. The branches are competing with each other, and that's why they are top-heavy with thin stems. If you remove two of the trunks, the other three will become thicker. Tying the branches is a no-no and will cause the plant to become more unstable. Instead of cutting the flowers off the top thin down to only one stalk in the end for the stongest trunk.

Thank you. I throw a solo cup for of a mix of holly tone, milorganite and epson salt around the drip line every few weeks and keep them watered very well. Where I am we have nasty red clay soil that dries out quickly and doesn’t have much nutrients…. Is it possible there was more than 1 tree in 1 pot when i bought them? I have 2 crapes and one has 5 trunks and one has 4. How do i go about getting rid of some trunks? Dig it back out or just cut a few trunks by the ground?

 

[cpp gardener]

You would have to cut them down to the base. Expect many new shoots around the cuts.

 

[oneeye]

Thank you. I throw a solo cup for of a mix of holly tone, milorganite and epson salt around the drip line every few weeks and keep them watered very well. Where I am we have nasty red clay soil that dries out quickly and doesn’t have much nutrients…. Is it possible there was more than 1 tree in 1 pot when i bought them? I have 2 crapes and one has 5 trunks and one has 4. How do i go about getting rid of some trunks? Dig it back out or just cut a few trunks by the ground?

Wait until late Winter, right before Spring. If you prune early in early Fall, you will have to look at it all Winter, so wait. In Spring the new growth will fill up the empty space from the pruning faster. Keep us posted.