The crepe myrtle is a spectacular tree and, if kept in good health, it can elevate the look of any garden. To ensure the tree blooms as it should come late spring, and the branches can hold the weight ...

Prune crape myrtles in late winter to encourage strong new growth and flower production. Avoid pruning in spring, summer, or fall to prevent cutting off new flowers and stressing the tree. Never top ...

I usually wait until mid-January to write something on this topic but this week I saw my first severe pruning of a crape myrtle for this dormant season earlier this month. So, instead of visions of ...

Crepe myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica, vary in size from dwarf shrubs to multi-trunked and single-trunk trees growing to 30 feet tall. Most varieties produce beautiful blooms starting in spring or ...

In the picture above, it's obvious that something has gone wrong. When you drive past a heavily pruned crepe myrtle tree (occasionally spelled "crape myrtle") your impression might be that someone ...

Question. We recently purchased a home and have two crape myrtles that bloomed profusely last year. When do you prune these plants, and how far back to do the trimming? Answer. Now is the time most ...

The question about pruning crepe myrtles and other plants seem to top the list of questions for this week. The butchers are out there! Crepe myrtles are the most abused tree in the landscape. Since ...

Garden columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions each week. To send a question, email Gill at [email protected]. I planted several 3-foot-tall Natchez multitrunk crape myrtles last ...

Somehow, the belief that crape myrtles should be brutally pruned by cutting off their tops persists, even though it's inaccurate. Crape murder is a term that has been coined to describe this severe ...

Here we go again. I see some folks are already hacking on their crape myrtles. The only pruning crape myrtles ever need (if at all) is thinning the trunks as they are developing to the desired ...

Timing is everything when it comes to pruning a crape myrtle. So when is it too late to prune crape myrtles if you want blooms in the summer? Along with not cutting off next year’s flowers, your ...