Crepe Murder Most Foul!

Living in the south, and doing the amount of lawn work I do, it's a darn good thing I don't have a Crepe Myrtle Tree. They take a lot of understanding. The Crepe Myrtle is a beautiful shade tree with blossoms that run from white, to lavender, to magenta to ruby red.  These trees start off their lives as rather unassuming diminutive things. However, if left to grow in their natural beauty, these trees become majestic monuments to the charm of the Southern landscape.  My goodness it all but makes you want to put on a white suite and sip a Mint Julep!

But there's some (cue dark menacing music) who lurk in the shade that know not the beauty of the Crepe Myrtle.  In the late fall, they cut away at the branches, hacking and sawing until all that is left are bare stubby trunks and all but nonexistent branches.  Murder!  Crepe Murder, Most Foul!

Crepe Murder, Most Foul! 

So, since again, no Crepe Myrtle in my yard (and thankfully, no Crepe Murder) I thought I'd look into what it really takes to trim one of these beauties, without murdering it, and post it here.  And, here's what I found. When you chop a crepe myrtle, the branches will grow back.  However, the shape of the tree is destroyed and you will produce a stunted shrub-like tree that lacks the grace of a naturally-shaped crepe myrtle.  The pic above shows a tree hacked just above it's 'knees.'  This tree will be short and stuffy and lack any definition. But, I hear ya, what DO you do to trim such beautiful lawn guardians? ok, so now we present:

Marv's Notes on How To Properly Trim a Crepe Myrtle

When the tree is dormant (in late winter/early spring), you can lightly prune a crepe myrtle in order to encourage a particular shape or to remove limbs that are in the way. The key words here are LIGHTLY and SHAPE.  You're not trying to start over, you're just making 'adjustments.' In addition, when the tree starts to put out new growth, you may see shoots that appear at the base of the tree. These should also be removed cutting close to the ground. Look back at the top and you can see that tree has been trimmed lightly, allowing the several 'legs' to grow naturally, no knees, no hacking and chopping.

The key is to use a light touch and your tree will grow to be a true Southern beauty. Sort of like me.