Crepe Myrtle Pruning Step-by-Step
What concerns people most in the country right now? Losing their jobs? Losing their retirements? Nope. It’s how to properly prune their crepe myrtles Here’s a step-by-step guide showing how the Grumps prunes his.
Why do you need my advice? Because a lot of you take guidance from your ignorant neighbors neighbors, who prune their crepe myrtles to look like this.
This is what I call “crepe murder.” I didn’t invent the term. I think it was coined by Byers Nursery, a big wholesale grower of crepe myrtles in Huntsville, Alabama. I just did what we Americans have always done so well — pass off other’s good ideas as your own.
Crepe murder is bad for several reasons.
1. It turns beautiful trees into ugly stumps.
2. It prevents the formation of pretty, mottled bark on maturing trunks.
3. A forest of skinny, whip-like shoots sprouts from the end of each ugly stump. These whips are too weak to hold up the flowers, so the branches often bend to the ground, like a drunk who’s about to lose his lunch.
Another reason people butcher crepe myrtles is because they say their plants get too big. All that this means is that these cretins chose the wrong plant for the wrong spot. Most popular crepe myrtle varieties (‘Natchez,’ ‘Miami,’ ‘Sioux,’ ‘Dynamite,’ Muskogee,’ ‘Watermelon Red’) grow at least 25-30 feet tall. So plant them out in the yard — not in front of your bay windows. Or go for compact, lower-growing kinds, like ‘Acoma,’ ‘Centennial,’ ‘Hopi,’ ‘Prairie Lace,’ ‘Victor,’ ‘Zuni,’ of the Petite Series from Monrovia.
The crepe myrtle you see above is deep-pink ‘Miami.’ I planted it in my front yard from a 3-gallon pot 15 years ago. I never pruned it much, because I strung it with tiny Xmas lights that I never took down. Leaving them on the tree reduced my Xmas decorating each year to 10 seconds. All I had to do was plug in the lights before Xmas and unplug them after. You could learn from this.
However, not being able to prune without cutting the light cords meant my crepe myrtle grew too dense and spread too wide. So last week, I took off the lights. Then, aided by my lovely unseen wife who agreed to take pictures, I finally pruned it to show you how it’s done and how a mature crepe myrtle is supposed to look. Murderers, take note!
Here is the crepe myrtle before I started. It doesn’t look too bad, but needs thinning. The tool leaning up against it is my trusty pole pruner. I like it because you can extend the pole to cut branches more than 15 feet from the ground.
Crepe Myrtle — Your Questions Answered
Objectives
Before you prune anything, it’s a good idea to know what you’re trying to accomplish. After all, you can always go back and cut more. You can’t go back and cut less. My objective was to maintain well-spaced, main trunks with handsome bark and to thin out out the center to permit easy penetration of sunlight and air. I always say if a bird can easily fly through the center of your crepe myrtle, the branches are spaced about right. If a bird can easily fly through the center of your house, you’re probably missing some windows.
Pruning Tools
To properly prune a mature crepe myrtle, you need 3 tools.
1. Hand pruners to clip twigs and branches less than 1/2-inch thick.
2. Loppers to cut branches 1/2-inch to 1-1/2 inches thick
3. Pole pruners or a pruning saw to cut branches more than 1-1/2 inches thick.
When to Cut
Late winter (right now) is the best time to prune a crepe myrtle, because it’s leafless and you can easily see all of the branches. It also blooms on new growth, so pruning now won’t reduce blooming. In fact, it may increase it.
What to Cut
Remove branches in the following order.
1. Suckers coming up from the base.
2. All side branches growing from the main trunks up to a height of at least 4 feet.
3. All higher branches growing inward towards the center of the tree.
4. All crossing, rubbing, and dead branches.
5. Branches growing at awkward angles that detract from the tree’s appearance.
Always cut back to a larger branch of the trunk. Don’t leave stubs. Removing seedheads on the end of branches is optional. Leaving them doesn’t reduce blooming. I leave mine.
The Finished Product
Below is the result of this year’s pruning. Isn’t it purty? The crepe myrtle is still a little denser than I would like, but I can prune it again next winter. Every year, the job gets easier.
More Crepe Myrtle Stuff
If your appetite for all things crepe myrtle still isn’t sated, you can read more brilliant commentary from the Grump about crepe myrtle care.
It’s natural for tall crepe myrtles to bloom mostly at the top, because that’s where the new growth is. However, limited blooms could be related by very hot, dry weather. Crepe myrtles often go almost dormant in summer when it doesn’t rain, but as soon as it does, they perk up and bloom.
Hi, I have 3 crepe myrtles around my house. They were planted in the spring of 2009. I have never pruned them due to lack of know-how-to! My problem: The trees have long, droopy, weak limbs. Should I prune them as you instructed in your photos/directions? Also, when should I prune? I live in southern Mississippi.
Thanks!
The long, droopy limbs resulted from improper pruning AKA “crepe murder.” What you can do to help them lift back up now is to prune off the heavy seedheads that form at the ends of the branches. Wait to do any serious corrective pruning until winter and follow the directions above.
I just wanted to say the pruning technique is very common to fruit trees however,Crape Myrtle blooms on “old growth” not new growth!
Aw shucks, Shuckapeafarms, you are 100% wrong. Crepe myrtles bloom on new growth. If they didn’t, all those people who chop down their trees into stumps each year would never see a bloom.
Sir if you’re still answering pruning questions, may i put one to you, does this advice , as to pruning crepe myrtles, apply to sw.floida, ocala, to be specific, ty, gloriajean
please excuse the spelling errors, i’m coloring my hair & can’t put my glaases on…the name is gloriajean & the state is florida
okay, where is my 1st comment, pertaining to crepe myrteles
oh gees, i better stop – i’m spelling so bad
I have about 50 Crepe Myrtles in my yard ranging from 20-30 ft high. When is a good time to prune them and can I use a chain saw to prune them.
Thanks.
Gloriajean,
It pays to keep on trying. Yes, you can use the same pruning guidelines.
Walter,
Winter is a good time to prune. You can use a chain saw to prune them, if you want them to look really ugly afterward. I prefer pruning saws, pole saws, and loppers. Follow the guidelines above.
Dear Mr. Grumpy, Several of my 30-year-old crepe myrtles were cut flat to the ground to get the buck truck in the yard to take down some beetle-infested pines. They have come back as a large bush. How do I cut out the shoots I don’t want and keep the cuts from sprouting even more shoots?
Carroll,
What you need to do is let the suckers grow about three feet tall and then select 3-4 well-spaced ones to become the new main trunks. Cut off all others at the ground. Crepe myrtle is notorious for suckering once its roots have been injured in any way. There is nothing you can do to stop this short of poisoning the tree or digging all the roots out.
Dear Mr. Grumpy, Several of my 30 year-old crepe myrtles had to be cut to the ground to get the bucket truck into the yard to take out 13 diseased trees. The crepes have come back as very large bushes. I’d like to remove most of the stalks to get them back to 4 or 5 main trunks. How do I keep the cuts from sprouting even more branches? Thanks, Carroll
PS. Same thing happened to one of my dogwoods, any suggestion for my now dogwood bush?
Carroll,
What I would do is select 4-5 well-spaced shoots of each plant to become the new main trunks. Cut all others to the ground. As the new trunks grow, remove all side branches up to a height of 4 feet or so. To get your dogwood back to a single-trunked tree, cut off all but one trunk this fall.
I purchased a house with Crepe Myrtles across the front. Whoever chose the plants chose wrong and the Crepes are now over the roof and squashed under the eves. I do not want to perform crepe murder but what am I to do as they need to come down at least 6 feet?
Paul,
You have three options.
1) Transplant or move the plants. 2) Perform crepe murder. 3) Replace these crepe myrtles with dwarf kinds, such as ‘Early Bird,’ that won’t grow up to the eaves.
Dear Mr Grumpy I have 3 dwarf CP’s and one blooms and the other two dont they are of different family because leaves are different is it ok to lighlty prune them now to see if they will bloom next year.
Yes. The difference in types is probably the cause of the two not blooming this year. Some types just take a little longer. Make sure they get plenty of sun. Do you know the names?
I have a weird question. I’m not sure what kind of myrtle I have. The only thing I know is it blooms deep red, almost maroon blooms and its 3-4 years old and only 4 ft high. The concern I have is that the trunk(s)are thin and multiple. I’m scared that I will end up with a ‘wirey’ looking myrtle. I’m wanting fewer trunks that are thicker..to have a more solid looking base. It blooms beautifully and all I do each year is trim off the tips that look a bit dead and the shoots from the bottom. What I’m wondering is there a way to fuse the lower branches or trunks together? Sort of like graphing them together? Or should I just keep doing what I’m doing and be more patient? Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to give! If it helps…I live in South Texas.
Amy, whatcha gonna do? I’m thinking you might have a semi-dwarf crepe myrtle, one that grows 6 feet or less. (It would help if I had the name.) If that’s true, it’s not going to get big. The only thing you can do at this point is watch and wait.
Hallelujah! I am mortified by ‘crepe murder’ and thank goodness for your step by step instructions on how I can have beautiful trees. I did nothing to mine last winter out of sheer ingnorance combined with a desire to not have a dead looking stump. THANK YOU!
Do you ever cut below the ugly knots of a crepe Myrtle back to the original trunk?
Steve, the answer is “yes.” To restore a butchered tree, cut the branches just below the knot. Many shoots will sprout from the cut ends in spring. Remove all but one or two. These will become the new main limbs. In several years, your trees will look good as new.
Just pruned my crepe myrtles according to your advice. They look great…thanks!
We just moved to NC and are in love with the two crape myrtles in our yard (pink, both). So when our neighbor offered us one she didn’t want, our gardener transplanted it. It was pretty mature and he really lopped it off, I mean it’s STUMPS about 4 feet high right now. He said that was necessary because they had to cut the root ball to a smaller size and the top had to be proportionate to the bottom. Is this true? Or was it just another example of crape Murder!!!!
Isn’t it CRAPE?
Urban Exile,
No, it’s not true, but since it’s already done, here’s how to fix it. You’re going to see a mess of new shoots growing from the ends of each of those stumps. Prune off all but one from each. These will become the new main trunks. Keep this up and in 3-4 years, you’ll hardly be able to tell crepe murder occurred.
Bruno,
It’s kinda like the to-may-to, to-mah-to thing. Southern Living has always spelled it “crepe.” We like it that way.
Dear Grumpy, My crepe myrtle was transplanted about 3 years ago. Since then it has never recovered to its original heavy flowering. Last year I pruned it back some and put some root stimulator around the top of where the root ball would be. I was told to do this by my local nursery who seems very knowledgable about crepes.
Should I repeat this again this spring, or is there something else I should do? I live on Long Island, N.Y.
Dear Grumpy, I have an 18yr.old crepe myrtle that I bought in S.C. when I dropped off my son at USCS. For years it did beautifully until 3 yrs ago when I had it transplanted. At first I thought it had died, but low and behold it grew very sparce leaves and flowers (nothing like it had produced in the past. I assumed that it was in shock, but the second year after transplant, it produced a bit more. Not knowing what to do, I went to a local nursery that seemed to know about my problem,and suggested that I add a root stimulator a couple of inches down around the root ball. It did a bit better last season, but still very sparce. Is there anything else that you can suggest to help out my once magnificent bush? Any help you can give me would be much appreciated, since it was not only a beautiful buch, it has sentimental value. Thank you so much, Linda Stolfa from Long Island NY.
Oops Too!!! Like Ms.Wells above me, I am a pretty bad speller, and I’m not British!!!!!
Linda Stolfa, Long Island, NY
I hope you are still able to respond to posts! If your tree is growing too tall, what is a good way to reduce some of its height?
I had a neighbor come over yesterday while I was properly pruning one of my trees and she got so mad at me that I wasn’t going to just cut them all down. Really made me crazy!!
Your help with crepe myrtles is really great Grumpy. Tomorrow, we’ll be trying not to “murder” the 2 crepe myrtles that are on the two ends of the landscape in front of the house. They’ve gotten so big that their side branches are hanging over the property line, and the tops of the branches are hitting the eaves and gutters of our ranch style house. They were planted on the corners of the landscape in front of the house, as opposed to 10 feet away from the house as you suggest.
Will you explain how to successfully transplant crepe myrtles that have been in place for more than 15 years (I bought this house in 1997 and they seemed mature at that time)?
Much Thanks!
I think I love you. Your flash backs made me laugh outloud and your advice.is.priceless! Thanks for the.chuckle and the needed help.
My pleasure.
Before we moved into our house, the previous owners planted a crepe myrtle in our landscaping in the front of the house. It is beginning to take over. Our neighbor does landscaping and said that all we needed to do was trim it and that it would be okay, but I have read they get VERY big and not made to put in landscaping, but rather in a yard. It is probably 4 or 5 years old. Do we just need to cut it down? Right now it isn’t close enough to cause damage, but I am worried.
Darcy,
It all depends on what kind of crepe myrtle it is. Some, like ‘Natchez,’ get 30 feet tall. Others, like ‘Acoma,’ get about 10 feet. A crepe myrtle next to a house won’t cause any damage as long as you keep the branches from touching the siding. All you have to do is prune off any branches at the trunk on the house side. If you don’t want to risk it, transplant your crepe myrtle now.
Thanks so much!…I have 3 large Crepe Myrtles bordering my front yard and I love them. I was afarid they were going to get a lil too big and possibly snap at the base or just fall over. Hopefully I can successfull prune them to prevent this from happening….Thanks Again!
Pruning Crepe Myrtles isn’t Murder. Pruning plants promote healthy growth. If you take notice, Crepe Myrtles are completely bare of leaves in the winter and already look like a stick tree. The truth is in the South, if a Crepe myrtle tree is trimmed after each bloom, after the blooms turn to berries, a gardener could expect three blooms per year. Without pruning you could expect only one bloom per year, maybe two if a great wind storm comes through and naturally prunes your tree.
Sherry,
We have a difference of opinion. I think when you cut off what would be a 205-foot tree and leave ugly, 4-foot stumps, it’s the wrong way to go.
Evidently my crepe myrtles are doing just fine…because I get little ones coming up from the ground EVERYWHERE! The main trees are about ten years old. They are growing in a flower bed next to my house. Last year, in the spring while cleaning out the flower bed I noticed some shoots coming up, I waited a couple weeks and them dug them up and replanted them. Those plants are growing beautifully! Now I have an explosion on little ones coming up out of the ground in my flower bed where I took the other ones out. I need help!! How do I get them to STOP propagating!
If I have all the new growth on my crepe myrtle is it too late to trim?
Wendi,
This is the problem with having a crepe myrtle in the middle of a flower bed. Every time you dig and cut a root, the crepe myrtle will send up a sucker. By digging up last year’s suckers, you cut even more roots. The only thing you can do now is cut off the suckers as they appear.
Liz,
It is not too late to prune.
My crepe murtle had limbs on my neighbors property which he just chopped off. Can they be sawed off to the trunk or do I have to wait til next Feb? I’ll also need to trim the side on my property to keep from having a lopsided tree. Help!
My crepe myrtles had green leaves, etc., with our early spring – then we had a hard freeze! They are brown and dead looking now. Should I cut back the dead or just leave alone?
Just leave it alone for now. The damaged leaves will fall off and be quickly replaced by new foliage.
It is OK to prune crepe myrtles now. I would remove the stubs back to the trunks. GG
This last comment is for Zula.
I have a small myrtle for 2 years now,planted it near the path and would like to put it in a big pot, the leaves are small
and the branches are growing around and not upwards no blooms
no name,lost the tag,the leaves are oval and small,pretty, what
shall i do? thank you