Preventing ‘Crape Murder’ Starts with You!

   The crapemyrtle is a very popular plant that produces dazzling blooms all summer long in Mississippi. During the winter months, their stems add form and texture to the landscape. Late winter is the optimal time to prune crapemyrtles.

'Crape Murder'

    And here is where the problem begins.  Most homeowners and many landscape maintenance companies do not know how to properly prune them.  They simply go out and top them at some arbitrary height - a practice that has become known as "crape murder."

   Often this mishap had its beginning at the garden center where the plant was purchased.  The homeowner buys a nice 3 – 5 foot crapemyrtyle in full bloom for that perfect spot in their landscape.  Once the plant gets established and starts to grow it becomes too big and has to be severely topped to maintain its space.
   In reality, crapemyrtles need very little pruning.  The secret is in the variety selection – select the right size variety for your site.  Crapemyrtles can range in size from one foot to over thirty feet in height!  But this is a story for another day.

   For now, let us focus on the ones you already have.  Proper crapemyrtle pruning is as simple as 1, 2, 3, here is how:

1. Remove suckers (small sprouts that can develop along main stems or at the base of the plant).

2. Remove crossed, damaged, or diseased branches.  For crossed branches, remove the weaker of the two limbs that are crossing or rubbing.  If you have maintained your plants on a regular basis, you might not have any of these to remove.

3. You might want to remove the tips of branches with last year’s seed heads on them. 

   Okay, now that you know the error of your ways how do you rehabilitate all those crapemyrtles that have been murdered in the past?  You can try one of the following options:

1. Choose the strongest two or three sprouts from each stub and remove the rest. This will encourage the remaining sprouts to grow. After a couple of seasons, the plant will improve in appearance.

2. Cut the plant back to within one to two inches of the ground while it is dormant. After two to three weeks of growth, select three to five of the most vigorous new shoots on each trunk and remove all others.  Remove any new shoots that emerge through the summer.  Or you can apply a sprout inhibitor to prevent the emergence of new sprouts.  Within three to five years, you will have a natural-looking crapemyrtle again.
  
  Use proper pruning techniques on your crapemyrtles to show your friends and neighbors to help eliminate “crape murder.”  Also, remember to choose the right size plant for your site, train it properly, and prune sparingly to maintain naturally beautiful crapemyrtles in your yard.