Over-pruning
-
We've all seen over-pruning - people chop
back crape myrtles below the knuckles each
and every year. When a crape myrtle is pruned
back too far it has two effects:
- Reduces
the number of blooms that will be produced
during summer.
- New
branches will grow far too long and therefore
not be able to support the weight of heavy
blooms - particularly when wet. These
long branches weep over and often break
off during heavy rains.
When
a crape myrtle is pruned properly:
-
it will produce twice the number of blooms
as it did during the previous year.
- the
new branches will be strong enough to
support blooms.
The
time to prune Crape Myrtles
- Wrong-season pruning would mean November
and December. Don't let "peer pressure"
by neighbors and commercial gardening crews
get to you. The reason is simple: we usually
don't have much of a winter in Zone 8. If
you trim the crapes in the last two months
of the year, and we get a warming trend
in January or February, the trees might
actually start putting on new growth. And
that new growth will be incredibly susceptible
to freezing weather should it come on the
heals of a warm spell. New growth will also
tend to draw the cold right into the plant,
causing needless damage to a tree that should
be resting in dormancy. So, the best time
to trim crapes is February. For years, we've
suggested this as a great time to trim them,
because at that time we're also trimming
back our roses and many other plants and
trees.
How
much to trim - The diagram
below shows how to prune a Crape Myrtle.
The rule of thumb is to trace down the outer
stems, from the dried seed pods to where
the stem meets a branch, and make a cut
about 4-6" up from the intersection.
Then prune away all horizontal twiggy growth
along all main branches. If suckers have
grown from the base of the trunk prune these
away too. Make all cuts as close to branches
as possible. By using this method of pruning
you will be promoting twice as many branches
every season which means twice as many blooms!
To
print diagram below right click on diagram
and select "Print" or "Print
Picture" from the drop-down menu
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This is
how a Crape Myrtle should NOT look after
pruning! |
Visit
All About Crape Myrtles
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