How not to trim a crape myrtle

This is just my opinion on one of most overplanted trees/shrubs in Texas. There are nice Texas natives that could easily replace them but that's another subject. Every winter, I see all those crape myrtles on their way to developing a nice small tree shape, then someone comes along and butchers them by chopping the tops off. If I'm going to trim them at all, it will only be side branches to train them to a nice, upright shape and to trim the volunteers that come up along the base to keep the number of trunks limited to the desired number. Butchering them is akin to how some people top their trees. They develop what I call the "club foot" look, which I find very ugly. Wherever you make a cut, a dozen shoots will fan out, ruining it forever. I've seen many crape myrtles that were never trimmed at all except for the base growth and they developed into very nice trees and never failed to bloom profusely. Crapes always bloom on new growth and whether you trim them or not, they'll put out plenty of new growth every year if they get enough water and maybe even some feeding.

Here's the nice shape a crape myrtle will form if left unmolested.

Crepes were one of the last trees I planted, as there were so many more that were important for me. Still, I needed some bright color and this tree fit the bill. I bought 3 large crepes trained into trees with a single trunk and they are underperformers that send up suckers continually. A pain.

The same variety planted very young and trimmed to multitrunked trees have been outstanding. Works of art.
One crepe, supposed to be a Natchez, bought at the same time in the same bunch is different but did well also.

Across the road from me, some crepes were planted in a grassy field and left alone. No trimming, no shaping, no mulch. They have grown over the years, are underperformers but look better now than their early years.

The Nacogdoches WalMart has some hurtin' crepes. The fist on each trunk grow larger every year as the poor plants are sheared across the top. I guess the contractors make more money spending time topping the plants, rather than walking by.

I think this started in my area at the published advice in The Houston Garden Book. It shows the way to trim crepes is by topping it back to "the desired height" and then to thin. I've seen info both ways, topping and not. My neighbor has a huge one that is not trimmed except for suckers at the base and the blooms get fewer and smaller each year on that one.

Hey Crow, good to see you!

I've come to learn that gardening advice sure can vary from person to person and time to time. Makes it tough when your new to gardening and following the current rules.

The following 3 pics were described in my previous post. The crepes across the road are on the left.

Sorry if this is a double post.

Third example.

A "fist" is defnitely a good way of describing it. I sure find it ugly and unnatural, but I'm sure there are many it doesn't bother at all. I guess many people just think of it as a hedge and they think they must shear off the top. I don't follow any garden books and just use common sense. A book is the opinion of the author who wrote it. A crape myrtle's natural shape is a multi-trunked tree. I've seen very few that were trained to a single trunk and I can imagine this would be quite a problem for a crape myrtle since it's inclined to form multi trunks. I've observed that crapes can have good years and bad years as far as blooms. It takes diligence to keep the suckers trimmed at the base but I've found that more mature ones with multiple trunks sucker somewhat less. Regardless of which way people go with their crapes, it's natural form is a tree and as in topping trees, it opens the plant up to disease and insects by making those drastic mutilations. I highly doubt those landscape contractors at Wal-Mart even know the names of the plants they are cutting.

Here's what they do every year to the crapes at the nice little Dr. Pepper park in the center of downtown Dublin.

Not to mention that, if left untrimmed (or lightly trimmed), birds will eat the seedpods. I have one CM (it came with the house) and I quit trimming it when I noticed a Carolina Chickadee making off with the seedpods.

Carla

I was watching birds eating from underneath a crepe myrtle with obvious seed pods today in Boerne, so it must a source of some winter food. I was telling DH that at least there were SOME birds that aren't going to our place for food. Our feeder is attracting a lot of birds! Garden experts have recently been advising against Crepe Myrtle mutilation, but I guess many people will keep doing it.

The reason most people whack their Crepes back is because they learn by the old monkey see, monkey do method. I was not aware that any book teaches this method. Long before I knew what a PC was, I was reading every book on trees I could get my hands on. Crepes are small flowering trees and need to be trimmed to keep their shape and to produce more blooms. Any book I have ever read, says to never cut any limb on a Crepe that is bigger than your little finger. Crepes tend to be very bushy and if you thin it's inner branches, ( the ones that do not get much sun ) the tree will be healthier and a healthier tree produces more blooms. On the other hand, when you whack it back to a nub, the tree can can not bloom until it produces enough limbs to produce enough leaves to support the plant.

There are three main lawn care crews that take care of most of the houses in a gated community where Maggi and I work. All three use the whack method of trimming Crepes. When I asked one of the crew chiefs why he trimmed Crepes that was, he replied that how your posta trim them. They also do not know how to trim a hedge or anything else. People just wake up one day and say I am going to get into the lawn care business and never do their homework.

At least you're doing your part to educate a crew chief about the better way to trim crepes. The wacking technique deserves an F in gardening 101.

There can be decent money made in lawn care and lots of citizens don't know much about crepes, or this practice wouldn't continue year after year on the same plants. Of course, working dawn to dusk or more leaves observation to a minimum.

Oddly I agree and disagree. I have 6 of these trees that came with the house and I personally have only cut out some of the trunks and the ever present suckers to "fit" them. I wouldn't top them but then I think it depends on what you want your plant to look like. In the past I have trimmed some plants into odd shapes that suited my mood and needs. The worst and best was a very old forsythea (sp) that I trimmed into an umbrella shape. My yard was very wild but this one old specimen was kinda cool in its formal and unusual shape.
C

That's the beauty and art of gardening! You can express yourself as you desire, it's personal and your own business. Others can like it or not. Most people are just too darn busy to pay attention to specific details and wouldn't pick apart anybody elses style anyway. If they have a life.

On DG we get to exchange thoughts and share methods. Sharpens the mind and eye.

The first picture in this thread does not show style, just the lack there of. Ugly is still ugly.

It is so easy to start over with crepes. Cutting down the poorly placed or damaged plaant is difficult, but easier on you in the ling run. Start over with a crepe planted for long term growth, trim it up as you desire, keeping in mind the health of the plant. Then golly, run over and fuss over what needs fussin'. A crepe is easy.

Don't you just wince at these poor crepes, lining the drive of the Nac Walmart?

Ugly is still ugly.

crepe murder

LOL yes ugly is still ugly but still in spring they get leaves and almost pass for trees.
C

This oak was cut a foot or so from the ground. The trunk visable higher up belongs to the tree behind it. You may be able to see the many toothpicked type trunks trying to grow from the cut oak. Makes an interesting and lovely shrub and may provide shelter for the birds. It makes a lousy tree.

You lost me on this one.

Ran across this thread and thought you'd enjoy this DG article from last year:

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1876/

Here's another pic of the oak, cut low leaving a stump. That stump has sprouted lots of very thin spikey switches. Those switches sure support leaf growth!

Aunt A, I really liked your article. All of the color on my computer screen brightened up the whole room!

One question, does topping force abundant blooming? I thought clipping off seed head encouraged a second bloom and topping a crepe did nothing but damage.

All this talk about Crepe Myrtles and before Winter is over, I will be digging up all of ours, except the ones behind the peacock pens. They are strong and healthy but we are tired of the look. At least half of the houses in our area have them. We started a nursery here in 2008 and lean toward the rare and unusual, Crepe Myrtles are not. So some friends of ours will be getting some nice looking trees.

No doubt the transplanted ones will do well. I got one from a closing tree farm. I swear the roots were chopped at 18". That tree blew out of the hole 3x that winter...
it is alive and well today

Thanks; glad you enjoyed it.


New wood = blooms. 3 schools of thought:

1.) Chop off way down to never, ever land.

2.) Trim gently.

3.) Leave it to nature; whatever will be, will be.


I go for the second school but generally end up in the third school.

^_^

I'm trying to find information on whether or not I can salvage a crape myrtle that was topped rather bluntly before I bought this house. I came across this post in one of the forums from a couple years ago... I'm interested in more information on "starting over" with a crape myrtle that was severely topped- I'll try to attach a picture in separate post (I'm new here and don't immediately see how to attach a picture).

Should I cut it down even further to make it regrow those thicker stronger limbs?

How can I salvage it or is the damage unrepairable?

By the way- I actually live in Georgia but figure the advice might still be applicable...

My sister once told me to never trim anything larger than a pencil.