As a Master Gardener in Brunswick Cty (I teach pruning)I appreciate your emphasis on proper pruning techniques, using the correct tools and putting the right plant in the right place. We need more videos like this from industry pros. Good job!
Creekside does an amazing job with showing us how to maintain larger shrubs and trees that not many youtubers do. As a side note, if anyone is having trouble understanding the pruning technique (like i did) u can check out linda vater, she does the exact same method of shrubs and small topiaries and it was a blessing for me to figure out exactly how to do it from creekside in tree form and linda in shrub form. Much love to u both
Jenny, thank you for speaking on the term, "Crepe Murder". I really wish people would STOP murdering their Crepe Myrtles. As a southern bell raised VERY near Natchez Mississippi & surrounded by these property trimmed beauties, I very quickly grew to love them. They are EVERYWHERE & SO beautiful when cut correctly. It's so sad to me when I see a Crepe Murder. BTW, I live in Georgia & have 23 year old White NATCHEZ Crepe Myrtles in my yard. They are huge & majestic! I trim them later winter myself. Also to insure it's done correctly. No Crepe Murder here! ❤
My elderly neighbor moved, she had two beautiful huge crape myrtles between our properties. The new owner just topped them and I about died when I pulled up to my house and saw them.
Thanks, Jenny♥️. This was extremely helpful. The pruning process really helps the crepe myrtle look more attractive! Blessings for the upcoming spring season!♥️
Best pruning video I've found! Just about everyone in my neighborhood in AL murders their crape myrtles. Mine is about 5 years old and was very bushy (and had finally started growing tall) but it now looks like a tree. I know it's a little late to be cutting on it but next year I'm hoping it will begin to look fabulous! Thank you so much!!
Hi, Jenny, I'm also NC 7b and I'm so glad Laura from Garden Answer featured you on her Highlights channel. Thank you for this video. I look forward to learning more about southern plantings and such. ❤
We've lived in the south for a while now, and I always wondered what those trees with the big knobs on top were 😳 now I know it's a bad crepe myrtle prune job! I recently bought a dwarf crepe myrtle for my backyard that only gets 3 ft tall. I'm so excited to see it grow!
Nice instructional video and thanks for advocating a stop to crape murder. I hate to see them all chopped up and knobby. I especially enjoyed the lopper technique. I use the same two hands on one handle with the second handle pressed against the belly.
I have crepe myrtles all around my house. We love them here in KY. I didn’t know how to prune them at all. Thank you for this wonderful video. Love all your videos 🥰
Nicely done! informative and entertaining! My only suggestion is to point out that your clippers and lopping shears are bypass pruners and to sanitize your tools prior to pruning to avoid any cross contamination. But, well done! As a professional landscape designer and nursery pro,I am constantly having to teach my clients NOT to pollard crape myrtles ( and, sadly, Japanese maples).
Thank you for all the great info on proper pruning. I had a BAD BAD landscaper who did my first plantings when my house was first build. He bought completely the wrong style crape and planted them next to the house. I'm in GA and have had to physically snatch the shears away from people who wanted to "tell" me the "correct" way to prune crapes. OMG... My poor mother was one of them (she had no idea). In mothers defense she instructed the landscaper to buy a smaller shrub variety and he bought the MEGA tree version. LOL. Every season, I have had landscapers pull in my driveway and tell me I need to top those trees back to bushes. UGH... I hate crape murder. I love them as natural trees. So fast forward 15 years... no one touches my landscaping anymore but me. So much was done wrong, anyway... I have 2 of the nachez crape myrtles 12 feet from the front corner of the house on both sides. One is up in the power line coming into the house. Both are draping onto the house. Do you have any recommendations of the best place to look for info on trimming a Crape canopy properly without topping the trees. Its a bit past hand shears and loppers. We are into ladders & pole saws now. I want to try to deal with some of the lower branches that have become so heavy with blooms they sag. Do I have to go all the way to base of the tree to trim them or to a joint in the limb? Is their any danger to limbs that touch the house? like conducting lightening strikes. I have been told alot, but don't want to murder and amputate unnecessarily.
Oh bless honey you have been through it! So you're not going to like what I have to say I'm afraid. I would say that ultimately the Natchezs close to your house need to come out. But if you're not ready to do that (and I totally understand), then I would recommend taking the arching limbs that are touching the house all the way back to the main trunks. You want the tree to look tidy and natural so you'll have to use your own judgement since you can see it with your own eyes (it's kind of tricky giving pruning advice via YT comments). Hope this helps a bit!
@@GardeningwithCreekside thank you. I will try pruning as you suggest. I have not quite gone all the way back to the trunk on all the cuts previously. Just tried to remove limbs at joints. Fortunately the way the roof runs on the two corners, I have not had any issues with the tree's limbs getting into gutters or soffits. Bit of a saving grace, for now. I hope to not remove them. Been fighting for the guys for years. Neighbor had a tree guy come to remove a tree from her backyard last year. He threatened to cut down my entire crape while I was at work because some of the limbs would be in his way to get into her backyard. He said he would have to remove one whole side (3 of the 5 trunks) so it was better to remove the whole tree. Then gave her a price to cut it down. Thank goodness the neighbor stopped him and told him it was on my property. I did a large pruning that night after work and got things clear enough for him to drive back. Never pruned a tree in the dark with a flashlight before... lol. But it came out amazingly well.
Thank you so much! Your video is very informative on pruning. I’ve personally never chopped mine in the past but have seen some that do and always wondered if this was correct. Recently bought a house and the owner murdered all 10 of the crape Myrtles up the drive and I thought why? I’ve cleared all the suckers and they’re looking really good. I told all my crape myrtles that they would never be chopped/murdered like that again! Lol!
@@abrahamgiliana I appreciate your passion, but it really is ok. Life is too short to get upset about a video that was shot a year ago. Have a great night!
My neighbors cut theirs off every year so they have nubs. They look pretty bad after several years pruning like that. Here in California people do the same thing to their Mulberry trees. They look terrible. Thanks for showing people how to prune them.
This video was so helpful to me! Thank you😊 Years ago I planted 4 crape myrtles right in front of my house. I had no idea what I was doing-I don’t know if I got the right variety for the space-thus the reason I feel so unsure every year of how to prune. I have made the mistake of cutting straight across-it seems to have worked to keep them on the smaller side-but your so right; it really creates all those shooters that I have to clean up throughout the blooming season.
Great video and very informative. I have been pruning some of my trees in to bushes for years now. I like them both as trees and shorter bushes it just depends on the location and the overall look I'm going for.
I had a landscape business in Nashville for twenty years. I learned all my landscape knowledge from a good old friend who had been doing it since the 1930s. So much of what you have stated here in this video is exactly what he taught me. I had to admit though that I got tickled when I saw you struggling to get some of those larger suckers with the loppers. I thought to myself, Heck, give my Mexicans a couple of machetes and they'd have that Myrtle looking great in about three minutes. LOL
I found and subscribed to this channel after searching for a recent video on pruning crape myrtles. This is my first time having to prune mine after getting it very young last year. I've never taken care of a tree this young so I was curious about it. Great information and demo! ☺
Thank you, Thank YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! great video. I live in 7B and so many people just Murder crepe myrtles and it takes years for them to look decent.
I purchased a 4 foot tall Natchez and planted it early spring and it has a strong single trunk and then it branches off a lot. I did cut a little off of some of the leggy long branches and it's blooming nicely this summer. Can't wait to prune it up this winter for next season. I planted about 7 feet away from a window that gets direct sun exposure all day - and am hoping for some shade in the next few years. Praying I picked the right spot. Thanks for the tutorial!
The Natchez variety will grow up into a very well shaped round, oval tree and will perhaps give you the shade you want eventually as it grows up.. But of course, it will lose all its leaves over winter, but will come back with new ones in the summer...
New subscriber from Laura’s channel. Thank you for this video on when & how to prune crepe myrtles. Yes, I felt like my gardener was murdering my myrtles and told home to stop. Also to quit making them look like lollipops lol.
I can no longer count the number of Crepe Murders that have been committed in my area - and it's not done by the homeowner, it's been committed by so called landscape services. The same sort of unprofessional services that offer tree topping (a great way to destroy a tree). Good presentation on how to properly train and restrain the growth of these tough, beautiful plants. One tip: when you use hand pruners, it's a good idea to wear a work glove on the hand that is holding the branch to be cut. It's very easy to get those pruners too close to those fingers - I've done it, and learned my lesson!
Great video I'm so glad you and your family have done so good, your place is beautiful. I have been growing Leyland cypress a few miles from you for 20+ years, keep up all the good work.
Thank you for this video, moved to NC and just bought a house with a crepe myrtle about 6 feet from the corner of the house and approximately20 feet tall. Needs pruning. I will be following your advice, and buying new appropriate tools for the job. Can't wait to see it in bloom.
I live in South Louisiana & have 32 Tonto Crepe Myrtles which are beautiful when blooming in June/July. They get up to 10 ft tall & I was lucky to have gotten all the same color along my driveway, flower beds & near my home.
I wish my nurseries had transparent views on their product. I have gone to 3 nursery very large size and they all said same thing. You can keep any myrtle any size you want. I specifically mentioned “crape murder” and they looked confused. 😢. The guy said no that’s not true 😅. So now at least I know I can’t depend on their advice without checking everything twice. Lol. Thank you for the video
Dear Jenny, I’m so very sorry for your tremendous loss! The sorrow on your face and the tremor in your voice said it all! I just started watching your channel a couple of weeks ago, and it immediately became my favorite garden nursery. To see this happen is nothing short of heartbreaking! My thoughts and prayers are with you as you deal with the aftermath of such devastation. God bless you! Jackie🪷
Thank you so much!!I just recently move to my new property here on Texas and I have 8 of those hahaha . I just whanted to see how to before messing one of them up. They really need some maintenance.
Great video! Thank you! I am in California where I have 8 Myrtles and am thinking of adding more right near the house. I was considering adding some more Natchez by the house, but I will rethink it now that I saw your advice on that. Thanks again :)
I saw this just in the knick of time! I plan to trim my crepe myrtle this week. Yes, I know I'm late by Florida standards but we've had a wickedly cold winter (for us).
This is awesome! I have the part about how crape myrtles should not look down pat it seems. All you have to do is look at my crape myrtles LOL.. thanks for the odd number truck advice. Looks like I'll have to let one or two of those suckers grow into a trunk on a few of my trees.
Very helpful. Had new Crepe myrtles put in last fall when we moved her to north AL - probably about 8ft tall now and need cleaned up - may have a few more added this fall :)
She prunes similar to me, except I have OCD, so I have to perfect every cut with pruning snips. I'm a natural picking out trees at nurseries. You'll see me stooping down, examining the base of the shrubs, looking for crossing branches and such. Sometimes I'll even pull a branch down that seems too close to another to imagine the shape if I were to prune it off. I've picked smaller, wimpier shrubs over taller, fuller ones that 'look' better, but were pruned improperly. I've thinned out Japanese maples to increase the air flow, eventually having them explode with beautiful growth. The only thing I'm not good at, but am getting better at, is choosing a location so that shrubs don't eventually swallow each other. I'm also losing my knack for digging holes due to age. Digging through compacted shale is crazy hard.
I have to dig through compacted lake bottom Clay, and there is no end to it.. I found this long, its over 6 foot tall steel digging bar at Home Depot.. It has a small chisel shape on one end and a rounded point on the other end.. I use this to break up the compacted lake bottom clay, after I have dug deeper than my pick can dig... Then the long digging bar to keep breaking up the clay, then a pair of fence post digging tool that has 2 wood handles connected to these long metal not very wide, scoops, to pull out the broken clay as i go deeper to 3 feet by 3 feet.. It's a lot of work but it will definitely get your upper body in shape.. I break up the solid pieces of clay with a sharpened square shovel that has the D handle so it's not very tall, and that helps break up the clay into way small pieces, so I can mix them with some gypsum, compost, leaves, ferttilizer, and put it all back into the hole, leaving enough room for the size of the plant, tree, etc... You will end up with extra clay, because since it was so compacted and you released the compaction, you now have more soil than you started out with... You can break up all the soil, mix it, so it stays loose, and perhaps make a nice mound soumewhere where you may want one, or something like that...
I love your tutorial! I have numerous crepe myrtles that were butchered and some never pruned. I feel confident I can now prune them correctly and timely. I still wonder what is the best nutrition for them and when can I feed them?
My rental property has 15 crepe myrtles from all ages from small little shrubbies and HUGE trees and one overgrown one I'm battling. All of them have those little 'suckers' on them. Thank you.
I have the dwarf variety that stays small. I noticed that pruning sealer helps to keep the branches from dying. I try to shape mine into a ball. I have new branches filling in, but it hasn't closed up yet like a hedge.
I just bought a property that has 48 crepe myrtles. Maybe more. At least that’s how many I can count right now. Omg. I have a lot of work ahead. Yikes. Thx for sharing
Knew I found the right video when I saw those Tiger Paws! And they're pointing the correct direction! I have 3 new Purple Magic Crape Myrtles, planted this past summer. Wondering if there's any special care I need to do for the winter? I'm in upstate SC.
This was the first Gardening With Creekside video I saw! I was hooked almost immediately. Since your family goes to Huntington Beach camping, I wish you would do multi-videoes on Brookgreen Gardens. I love Brookgreen! I know, I know, you go there to relax not shoot a video. ;)
My neighbor committed crape murder. It looks awful.😞 My crape myrtle is very young, so I’m still trying to grow its main trunks...still learning. Thanks for sharing.
As a Master Gardener in Brunswick Cty (I teach pruning)I appreciate your emphasis on proper pruning techniques, using the correct tools and putting the right plant in the right place. We need more videos like this from industry pros. Good job!
Thank you so much!
@@GardeningwithCreekside you’re welcome
As a fellow Master Gardener here in north Alabama, I am always preaching about ‘crape murder’ which is my biggest pet peeve!
Prolific information thank you
This is the BEST instructional video I have ever seen for crape myrtle pruning. Thank You for this thorough information!
The Best tutorial I have ever seen on trimming crepe myrtles!!
Thanks! Glad it was helpful!
Great information. I wish I had known this years ago before I planted crape myrtles at the front of my house. This video is a must share. Thank you.
I just bought my first crape myrtle, a black diamond! I'm so excited, and am so grateful for this video!
Creekside does an amazing job with showing us how to maintain larger shrubs and trees that not many youtubers do. As a side note, if anyone is having trouble understanding the pruning technique (like i did) u can check out linda vater, she does the exact same method of shrubs and small topiaries and it was a blessing for me to figure out exactly how to do it from creekside in tree form and linda in shrub form. Much love to u both
Jenny, thank you for speaking on the term, "Crepe Murder". I really wish people would STOP murdering their Crepe Myrtles. As a southern bell raised VERY near Natchez Mississippi & surrounded by these property trimmed beauties, I very quickly grew to love them.
They are EVERYWHERE & SO beautiful when cut correctly.
It's so sad to me when I see a Crepe Murder.
BTW, I live in Georgia & have 23 year old White NATCHEZ Crepe Myrtles in my yard. They are huge & majestic!
I trim them later winter myself. Also to insure it's done correctly.
No Crepe Murder here! ❤
My elderly neighbor moved, she had two beautiful huge crape myrtles between our properties. The new owner just topped them and I about died when I pulled up to my house and saw them.
Her yard is massive!!! love it!!!
I have to agree with the others, this was absolutely THE best video I've seen on pruning. So clear! Thank you
Thanks, Jenny♥️.
This was extremely helpful. The pruning process really helps the crepe myrtle look more attractive! Blessings for the upcoming spring season!♥️
She's so cute when she's "fighting the tree"! 😆 That's REAL gardening. Thanks for the great info!
I love her special branch fighter voice. 🤣 I bet she’s great when reading to kids.
Best pruning video I've found! Just about everyone in my neighborhood in AL murders their crape myrtles. Mine is about 5 years old and was very bushy (and had finally started growing tall) but it now looks like a tree. I know it's a little late to be cutting on it but next year I'm hoping it will begin to look fabulous! Thank you so much!!
Hi Melissa.
Thank you for sharing! This was by far the most informative video on pruning my crepe myrtle!
So glad you found it helpful!
No Crepe Murder! It's always amazing to see all the landscapers doing it..
It's absolutely disgusting.
I see homeowners also murder their maple and cherry trees for being too tall next to the house. They look like headless horsemen.
Hi, Jenny, I'm also NC 7b and I'm so glad Laura from Garden Answer featured you on her Highlights channel. Thank you for this video. I look forward to learning more about southern plantings and such. ❤
Welcome! I’m so glad that you enjoyed the video & happy to have you a part of our community!
I only currently watch two gardening shows on UA-cam. The Garden Answer who I discovered years ago and now Gardening with Creekside. LOVE THEM!!
Great video, I went from knowing nothing to something real quick, thank you!!
Yay!!!
You lob like me. It's a contact sport 🤣. A wonderful stream. Thank you ❤
We've lived in the south for a while now, and I always wondered what those trees with the big knobs on top were 😳 now I know it's a bad crepe myrtle prune job! I recently bought a dwarf crepe myrtle for my backyard that only gets 3 ft tall. I'm so excited to see it grow!
Yes, when people do that it's called "Crepe MURDER".
I really hate seeing it.
Nice instructional video and thanks for advocating a stop to crape murder. I hate to see them all chopped up and knobby. I especially enjoyed the lopper technique. I use the same two hands on one handle with the second handle pressed against the belly.
I have crepe myrtles all around my house. We love them here in KY. I didn’t know how to prune them at all. Thank you for this wonderful video. Love all your videos 🥰
Nicely done! informative and entertaining! My only suggestion is to point out that your clippers and lopping shears are bypass pruners and to sanitize your tools prior to pruning to avoid any cross contamination. But, well done! As a professional landscape designer and nursery pro,I am constantly having to teach my clients NOT to pollard crape myrtles ( and, sadly, Japanese maples).
Good job honey, my 100 lb dog liked the whistling,
Thank's for the vid.
Thank you for all the great info on proper pruning. I had a BAD BAD landscaper who did my first plantings when my house was first build. He bought completely the wrong style crape and planted them next to the house. I'm in GA and have had to physically snatch the shears away from people who wanted to "tell" me the "correct" way to prune crapes. OMG... My poor mother was one of them (she had no idea). In mothers defense she instructed the landscaper to buy a smaller shrub variety and he bought the MEGA tree version. LOL. Every season, I have had landscapers pull in my driveway and tell me I need to top those trees back to bushes. UGH... I hate crape murder. I love them as natural trees. So fast forward 15 years... no one touches my landscaping anymore but me. So much was done wrong, anyway...
I have 2 of the nachez crape myrtles 12 feet from the front corner of the house on both sides. One is up in the power line coming into the house. Both are draping onto the house. Do you have any recommendations of the best place to look for info on trimming a Crape canopy properly without topping the trees. Its a bit past hand shears and loppers. We are into ladders & pole saws now. I want to try to deal with some of the lower branches that have become so heavy with blooms they sag. Do I have to go all the way to base of the tree to trim them or to a joint in the limb? Is their any danger to limbs that touch the house? like conducting lightening strikes. I have been told alot, but don't want to murder and amputate unnecessarily.
Oh bless honey you have been through it! So you're not going to like what I have to say I'm afraid. I would say that ultimately the Natchezs close to your house need to come out. But if you're not ready to do that (and I totally understand), then I would recommend taking the arching limbs that are touching the house all the way back to the main trunks. You want the tree to look tidy and natural so you'll have to use your own judgement since you can see it with your own eyes (it's kind of tricky giving pruning advice via YT comments). Hope this helps a bit!
@@GardeningwithCreekside thank you. I will try pruning as you suggest. I have not quite gone all the way back to the trunk on all the cuts previously. Just tried to remove limbs at joints. Fortunately the way the roof runs on the two corners, I have not had any issues with the tree's limbs getting into gutters or soffits. Bit of a saving grace, for now. I hope to not remove them. Been fighting for the guys for years. Neighbor had a tree guy come to remove a tree from her backyard last year. He threatened to cut down my entire crape while I was at work because some of the limbs would be in his way to get into her backyard. He said he would have to remove one whole side (3 of the 5 trunks) so it was better to remove the whole tree. Then gave her a price to cut it down. Thank goodness the neighbor stopped him and told him it was on my property. I did a large pruning that night after work and got things clear enough for him to drive back. Never pruned a tree in the dark with a flashlight before... lol. But it came out amazingly well.
Thank you so much! Your video is very informative on pruning. I’ve personally never chopped mine in the past but have seen some that do and always wondered if this was correct. Recently bought a house and the owner murdered all 10 of the crape Myrtles up the drive and I thought why? I’ve cleared all the suckers and they’re looking really good. I told all my crape myrtles that they would never be chopped/murdered like that again! Lol!
Suggestion, always shoot digital with the sun to your back . You won’t have glare like you are having. Love the channel.
Totally agree! Sometimes though we’re forced to film when we have the time and we have to fight the sun and background 😉
I would say, FIRE the cameraman!
It's so shame he/she ruined the video.
@@abrahamgiliana I appreciate your passion, but it really is ok. Life is too short to get upset about a video that was shot a year ago. Have a great night!
My neighbors cut theirs off every year so they have nubs. They look pretty bad after several years pruning like that. Here in California people do the same thing to their Mulberry trees. They look terrible. Thanks for showing people how to prune them.
This video was so helpful to me!
Thank you😊
Years ago I planted 4 crape myrtles right in front of my house. I had no idea what I was doing-I don’t know if I got the right variety for the space-thus the reason I feel so unsure every year of how to prune. I have made the mistake of cutting straight across-it seems to have worked to keep them on the smaller side-but your so right; it really creates all those shooters that I have to clean up throughout the blooming season.
Jenny, love ya! Upon illustrations are good and your humor is so natural. Thanks again for sharing….
Great video and very informative. I have been pruning some of my trees in to bushes for years now. I like them both as trees and shorter bushes it just depends on the location and the overall look I'm going for.
I had a landscape business in Nashville for twenty years. I learned all my landscape knowledge from a good old friend who had been doing it since the 1930s. So much of what you have stated here in this video is exactly what he taught me. I had to admit though that I got tickled when I saw you struggling to get some of those larger suckers with the loppers. I thought to myself, Heck, give my Mexicans a couple of machetes and they'd have that Myrtle looking great in about three minutes. LOL
Looks so much better. Great job and great tips. Now I know how to prune mine. I learned so much from this video!!!
I'm so glad!
Great Video!!! Being a New Yorker moved to the south I had NO IDEA what to do with my Crape Myrtle! Thanks!
😂 so funny! And very informative - I hate crape murder! All landscapers should watch this and implement!!! I also enjoy Grumpy’s articles ☺️
Please do more pruning videos I really want to know how to prune EVERY pant
Thanks for letting us know! We will add that to the to-do list.
@@GardeningwithCreekside 💚⚘ actually ,that's how I discovered you
You was pruning something in your backyard
And I've adored ur account since
I can’t wait to prune my trees now. I feel very informed on what to do! Thank you!
Your welcome!! Thanks for watching
I found and subscribed to this channel after searching for a recent video on pruning crape myrtles. This is my first time having to prune mine after getting it very young last year. I've never taken care of a tree this young so I was curious about it. Great information and demo! ☺
I am so glad that you found the video helpful! Happy gardening!
Thank you, Thank YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! great video. I live in 7B and so many people just Murder crepe myrtles and it takes years for them to look decent.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I truly hate to see people whack off the tops of any trees! 💚
This very informative! I was going to have at my tree in a few days. I'll wait. I have a lot of work to do on mine. Thank you!
Fantastic info and instruction. Now I understand . thank you.
I purchased a 4 foot tall Natchez and planted it early spring and it has a strong single trunk and then it branches off a lot. I did cut a little off of some of the leggy long branches and it's blooming nicely this summer. Can't wait to prune it up this winter for next season. I planted about 7 feet away from a window that gets direct sun exposure all day - and am hoping for some shade in the next few years. Praying I picked the right spot. Thanks for the tutorial!
The Natchez variety will grow up into a very well shaped round, oval tree and will perhaps give you the shade you want eventually as it grows up.. But of course, it will lose all its leaves over winter, but will come back with new ones in the summer...
Hi Marianne.
New subscriber from Laura’s channel. Thank you for this video on when & how to prune crepe myrtles. Yes, I felt like my gardener was murdering my myrtles and told home to stop. Also to quit making them look like lollipops lol.
So glad I stumbled on this video. Because I now know how to prune mine! Yea!
I can no longer count the number of Crepe Murders that have been committed in my area - and it's not done by the homeowner, it's been committed by so called landscape services. The same sort of unprofessional services that offer tree topping (a great way to destroy a tree). Good presentation on how to properly train and restrain the growth of these tough, beautiful plants. One tip: when you use hand pruners, it's a good idea to wear a work glove on the hand that is holding the branch to be cut. It's very easy to get those pruners too close to those fingers - I've done it, and learned my lesson!
Many folks make the mistake of planting trees, and schrubs too close to a structure/house whetever. Thanks for talking about that.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I hate to see the way so many people "murder" their Crepe Myrtles.
Great video I'm so glad you and your family have done so good, your place is beautiful. I have been growing Leyland cypress a few miles from you for 20+ years, keep up all the good work.
Thank you so much for this video. I have some crape myrtles that needed some help and this is just the information that I needed.
Thank you for this video, moved to NC and just bought a house with a crepe myrtle about 6 feet from the corner of the house and approximately20 feet tall. Needs pruning. I will be following your advice, and buying new appropriate tools for the job. Can't wait to see it in bloom.
Nice presentation. Very informative. Thank you!
thanks for information on correct way to prune.
Happy to help!
I live in South Louisiana & have 32 Tonto Crepe Myrtles which are beautiful when blooming in June/July. They get up to 10 ft tall & I was lucky to have gotten all the same color along my driveway, flower beds & near my home.
Sounds beautiful! 🌳
So marvelous! Thank God for you..❤️
I wish my nurseries had transparent views on their product. I have gone to 3 nursery very large size and they all said same thing. You can keep any myrtle any size you want. I specifically mentioned “crape murder” and they looked confused. 😢. The guy said no that’s not true 😅. So now at least I know I can’t depend on their advice without checking everything twice. Lol. Thank you for the video
Bless their hearts 😉. Out of curiosity, what state do you live in?
Dear Jenny,
I’m so very sorry for your tremendous loss! The sorrow on your face and the tremor in your voice said it all! I just started watching your channel a couple of weeks ago, and it immediately became my favorite garden nursery. To see this happen is nothing short of heartbreaking! My thoughts and prayers are with you as you deal with the aftermath of such devastation. God bless you!
Jackie🪷
Thank you so much!!I just recently move to my new property here on Texas and I have 8 of those hahaha .
I just whanted to see how to before messing one of them up.
They really need some maintenance.
Very informative! My kind of teaching. I processed it well. Thank you
You're very welcome!
Looks so neat afterwards!
imahappygal1 it does doesn’t it? The right pruning makes all the difference!
Great video! Thank you! I am in California where I have 8 Myrtles and am thinking of adding more right near the house. I was considering adding some more Natchez by the house, but I will rethink it now that I saw your advice on that. Thanks again :)
You’re so welcome! Happy gardening!
Very good video, helpful and informative. am thankful for someone who really knows and gives the truth. Love it
Glad it was helpful!
Agreed. We have a beauty in our yard, wisely pruned of course. :) Best shade tree for a modest yard indeed.☀️
I saw this just in the knick of time! I plan to trim my crepe myrtle this week. Yes, I know I'm late by Florida standards but we've had a wickedly cold winter (for us).
Good job! Looks much better.
This is awesome! I have the part about how crape myrtles should not look down pat it seems. All you have to do is look at my crape myrtles LOL.. thanks for the odd number truck advice. Looks like I'll have to let one or two of those suckers grow into a trunk on a few of my trees.
A hand saw works good for the bigger branches .... loppers are for smaller branches ..... makes doing the job more easy on your body :)
Thanks for the info, I have 3 that has never been pruned & they are about 8-10 years old .. I’m surprised they still bloom ! Lol 😳😳😳
Great information. Thanks!!!
Our pleasure!
Awesome information. Loved this video
Very helpful. Had new Crepe myrtles put in last fall when we moved her to north AL - probably about 8ft tall now and need cleaned up - may have a few more added this fall :)
Glad it was helpful!
She prunes similar to me, except I have OCD, so I have to perfect every cut with pruning snips. I'm a natural picking out trees at nurseries. You'll see me stooping down, examining the base of the shrubs, looking for crossing branches and such. Sometimes I'll even pull a branch down that seems too close to another to imagine the shape if I were to prune it off. I've picked smaller, wimpier shrubs over taller, fuller ones that 'look' better, but were pruned improperly. I've thinned out Japanese maples to increase the air flow, eventually having them explode with beautiful growth. The only thing I'm not good at, but am getting better at, is choosing a location so that shrubs don't eventually swallow each other. I'm also losing my knack for digging holes due to age. Digging through compacted shale is crazy hard.
I have to dig through compacted lake bottom Clay, and there is no end to it.. I found this long, its over 6 foot tall steel digging bar at Home Depot.. It has a small chisel shape on one end and a rounded point on the other end..
I use this to break up the compacted lake bottom clay, after I have dug deeper than my pick can dig...
Then the long digging bar to keep breaking up the clay, then a pair of fence post digging tool that has 2 wood handles connected to these long metal not very wide, scoops, to pull out the broken clay as i go deeper to 3 feet by 3 feet..
It's a lot of work but it will definitely get your upper body in shape..
I break up the solid pieces of clay with a sharpened square shovel that has the D handle so it's not very tall, and that helps break up the clay into way small pieces, so I can mix them with some gypsum, compost, leaves, ferttilizer, and put it all back into the hole, leaving enough room for the size of the plant, tree, etc...
You will end up with extra clay, because since it was so compacted and you released the compaction, you now have more soil than you started out with...
You can break up all the soil, mix it, so it stays loose, and perhaps make a nice mound soumewhere where you may want one, or something like that...
I love your tutorial! I have numerous crepe myrtles that were butchered and some never pruned. I feel confident I can now prune them correctly and timely. I still wonder what is the best nutrition for them and when can I feed them?
You can do it! I would use a great all-purpose slow release fertilizer like Plant-tone in early spring when you begin to see new growth.
My rental property has 15 crepe myrtles from all ages from small little shrubbies and HUGE trees and one overgrown one I'm battling. All of them have those little 'suckers' on them. Thank you.
Jerry, more amazing lawns!! Love it.
Thank you for this video, it gives me proper clipping for my tree.
Very good information and examples. Love it
Thanks! My mother has one that hasn't been trimmed in geez.... 10 years or so. Im about to hop to it. Northwest Mississippi area.
Beautiful pruning job!
Very helpful video. Thanks!
I have the dwarf variety that stays small. I noticed that pruning sealer helps to keep the branches from dying. I try to shape mine into a ball. I have new branches filling in, but it hasn't closed up yet like a hedge.
Great video and demonstration.
Excellent. I will now trim my 3 Crape Myrtles and not murder them.
That’s called “crepe murder” lol love it ❤️
I just bought a property that has 48 crepe myrtles. Maybe more. At least that’s how many I can count right now. Omg. I have a lot of work ahead. Yikes. Thx for sharing
Wow!!!!!
Great thanks so much
Great teaching & presentation!
Thank you 😊
very very beautiful~~!! thank you for video😀
Very helpful, thank you!
Knew I found the right video when I saw those Tiger Paws! And they're pointing the correct direction! I have 3 new Purple Magic Crape Myrtles, planted this past summer. Wondering if there's any special care I need to do for the winter? I'm in upstate SC.
I have left my crepe myrtle alone and it is gorgeous
I would use the pruning debris and make tea piece for my peace and my cucumbers. That’s what I do.❤
TEE/PEE silly auto text
Extremely helpful. Thank You!!
Good tutorial, Thanks
This was the first Gardening With Creekside video I saw! I was hooked almost immediately. Since your family goes to Huntington Beach camping, I wish you would do multi-videoes on Brookgreen Gardens. I love Brookgreen! I know, I know, you go there to relax not shoot a video. ;)
I would love to see a whole video on how they use groundcovers, or on their Japanese maples, or water features, or . . . :).
Thank you! So happy I found this prior to trimming mine
My neighbor committed crape murder. It looks awful.😞 My crape myrtle is very young, so I’m still trying to grow its main trunks...still learning. Thanks for sharing.
So in late winter here too in Oz 🙌thanks Jenny my favourites are Crape Myrtles 😻🧤👒🦘🐨🇦🇺
Love this video and Grumpy
Thanks for sharing👍👍♥️
Gracias por compartir
Awesome video! Thank you for the great info.