Ask-a-Dave's-Gardener: How to prune leggy crape myrtles in old lane, 2 by Melntb

Melntb wrote:
Last year we bought an old homestead that had been abandoned since the 70\'s. There is a very long lane/driveway that leads to the old homesite. The lane was so overgrown it was like heading into a dark tunnel! We have since cleared out all of the undergrowth and left the trees we wanted to keep. It is a mixture of oak, pine, magnolia with crape myrtles running along only one side. The crape myrtles were very,very tall and leggy. I\'m assuming that was because they were trying to reach for the sun! Anyway they were so leggy that after a lot of rain one of the bigger ones fell over. So my question is how to prune them down? Where I would like to prune them, about 12 ft from the ground, the trunks are pretty thick. I know this is considered \"crape murder\" but does anyone have a better idea? I don\'t want to lose anymore! I am posting pics here and in the ID forum to see if anyone can identify the variety as well. I would like to plant some on the other side of the lane. Thanks for any help!