Crape-a-cide! AKA “Crape Murder.”
(Caption: photo of crape myrtle used by permission with attribution, copyright James G. Howes, July, 24, 2007).
A heinous crime exists in southern gardens, from Virginia to Florida. This crime against creation maims, destroys harmony and, sadly, and eventually, kills. It is too horrible to imagine, and involves butchering, slashing and devastation. It is called crape-a-cide.
What? Never heard of this crime? Neither has the Department of Justice. If you have a crape (also spelled crepe) myrtle, you may have done it, thoughtlessly and needlessly. You know all those garden books and wiser-than-thou neighbors who tell you to mercilessly chop the branches off your crape myrtle tree to promote bloom? Well, I am among a growing number of gardeners who think this is a BAD IDEA, and let me tell you why.
First off, it may seem that severely pruning your crape myrtle back in the winter does promote a flush of bloom in summer. It is true, blooms will be larger, perhaps not more numerous, but there is a cost. Repeated pruning like this does several things:
It ruins the beautiful, natural form of the tree. The tree, instead of growing into its full beauty of form becomes twisted, stunted and develops clubbed ends on the limbs. For the large portion of the year that the tree is bare of leaves and flowers, this is an ungainly and unpleasant sight. The “bone structure” of any tree is important. Also, when in bloom, the severely pruned tree makes an unfortunate umbrella or a lollypop shape.
Many crape myrtles have beautiful bark, another point for fall and winter interest. Severely pruned trees do not develop this bark, or not as well.
When you severely prune any tree, you weaken it. Severe pruning kills off roots, making the tree more vulnerable to drought and high winds. Repeated annual, severe pruning can shorten the life of the tree.
What to do? You can cut off the little seed heads that form every year and do a light shearing. Like all trees, never prune off more than one-third of the branches at a time and do not do this every year. Wait until the tree is fully dormant to prune, say, in January. And, when you make the cut, make sure it is a small cut on the underside of the branch, then cut downwards from the top. This prevents the branch from tearing a long strip of bark onto the tree below the cut. I wince when I see this!!! Such a jagged tear can invite insects and disease and bark death. Some people slap on a little latex paint on newly cut braches, this is up to you. Certainly cut off any suckers forming from the bottom and any crossed or split branches.
Save the Crapes!
Happy gardening!
