HOW TO PRUNE A CRAPE MYRTLE: Intentional pruning to help your tree thrive
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- Опубліковано 23 сер 2024
- Crape Myrtles are fun, rewarding trees (shrubs)! They bloom throughout the summer and are a favored staple in most landscapes in the South. Crape Myrtles are easy to maintain and will perform nicely if taken care of properly. They are forgiving to a point but improper pruning can ultimately weaken the tree to its unfortunate demise.
In this video, I share the proper way to prune a Crape Myrtle by making intentional cuts and being mindful of the trees natural healing branch collar. With some tips, guidance, and education, it is my hope that we can eliminate Crape murder from the landscapes around us!
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try using a sawsall with a long wood blade for those thick branches at the base of the tree... much easier (and precise) in tight places.
I used to work with Kim and she was my manager. She was a great boss and she definitely has all around knowledge about the landscape and design industry. I’m so happy to come across this video. Go Kim…🙏🏿❤️
I appreciate your video & that you actually showed how to cut it back, not just speak to the do’s & do not’s.
My trees have grown really tall & spindly at the top. Do o do my cleanup & then just cut the top off? Thanks!
I've planted 30 or so in my back yard in the past 2 years .. they were 1 gallon size pots the ones I planted last year are starting to grow now maybe quickly . Purple ones , white , pink . . I just hope they get taller than my fence by the year 2059 .
I was looking for a good video , and this is the most helpful!! I planted 2 small crape Myrtles last year in my new home, they are still babes, I love them and I'll follow all your directions . Thank you!!❤🪴🌳🌺 Susan
Like your advice on how to user the clippers when pruning.
Thank you for sharing... I now know how to prune and as you said, "if they were mine" I get it. I am also propagating mine so that I have more on the property. You are wonderful!
Thanks for the video it was very helpful as I am new to several crape myrtles at my new location
Oh yay that makes me happy. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Awesome, just what I needed to know. See you on my next inquiry.
Can't wait!
I swear this is one of my childhood home's that she is pruning at. Hermitage Ct, Marietta, GA 30064
The wood fence with crepe myrtles against the fence and monkey grass at the bottom.
Why did this make me so excited?!
Well…no but I am glad you were brought great memories. It was in central North Carolina 😊
You all have asked some great questions and are going to have beautiful Crape Myrtles. Ask anytime. I’m happy to help you to know how to not commit Crape Murder. 🙌🏼
Well I may have committed genocide to my Crape Myrtles due to being ignorant of what this thing was (new house). I had no idea what it was but it looked dead as a door nail and was about 25’ tall. There were several about 7-9 large trunks ranging from about 4” to 7” in diameter. I cut them all down with the reciprocating saw about 18” above ground level with the intention of coming back and pulling out the stump. I kept seeing all these green shoots coming up from the base at or below ground level that were turning maroon. The neighbor today asked me why I didn’t like that scrape Myrtle. I replied to her what Crape Myrtle? My first thought was my neighbor lady spying on us maybe from somehow inside the house? My fiancé wants a few Crepe Myrtles badly and I told her we definitely would do so. Then she pointed to the collection of stumps where I had been burning sticks inside of this thing trying ti kill it.
Now that you’ve heard my confessions of my attempted tree genocide here is the plan. I’d like to propagate these sucker limbs at the base that appear to be good and grow several new Crape Myrtles for our house and my parents.
I understood on how to cut them and so on. However I still have more questions than answers at this point after getting them rooted then what? How many do I plant? Will 1 start make several trunks or do I plant multiple starts to get more trunks… how does that work? When do I prune? What zone am I in? How can I tell what type of crape Myrtle I have? For some unknown reason to me I have either amazing luck with plants or was gifted a very green thumb. It just isn’t my forte to grow things (I’m a CNC machinist/programmer not a botanist). However these trees seem amazingly beautiful and would mean the world to my future wife and I would love to be able to do this for her and my folks too. Any help, advice, links, tutorials, or tree manuals would be much appreciated.
We just purchased and had planted a Crepe Myrtle for our front yard in South Carolina. I've watched several videos on pruning, but yours, by far, has been the most helpful. I've been led to believe that the best time for pruning a Crepe Myrtle in our area (Myrtle Beach) is mid to late February. Would you agree? Thanks again!
Excellent demo. Thanks
Glad you liked it. Was it helpful?
This was very helpful. I'm new to gardening and after my crepe mertyl didn't flower this year I've just pruned it (autumn here).
I've cleaned up a lot of the suckers and branches through the middle, but I'm wondering how much to take off the tips that are kind of crispy looking.
Hi, very helpful video. Do you have video of what the Crape Myrtle looks like in summer, when the foliage has grown back in?
Hey, thank you so much for reaching out. This was at my daughters rental house. She just moved out but I bet I could ask them if I could come this summer and take a picture of it. It looked so nice last summer after it filled in. Let me work on that. Thank you so much for watching!
WOW thanks so much. Just what I needed to see. I think I can save myself a couple of hundred dollars of what was going to be charged to me. A lot of other videos o my talk about what to do and not show you. Thanks.
Helpful? Yes!! Thank you!
Awesome!!!
AMAZING JOB. ENJOYED YOUR VIDEO ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Very good. I would have cut a lot more trunks out of it as well. 👍
Very cool Kim! You’re so good! Do you think you can come to California to prune my crepe myrtle?? 🤔😆😘
Yes!!!! I would love that. Besides my daughter just moved to San Diego so any excuse to see her also 😉
I have a crape Myrtle in front of my house, it’s beautiful but the trunks are getting so tall and it’s hard to manage. You mentioned you would prune differently if it were your property, any advice?
thank you for the great tutorial! I hope to be able to follow your example and get the best results. BTW, have you had any experience with Butterfly bush that has gotten out of control? Mine is more like a tree than a bush/shrub and I want to prune it properly as Im turning my yard into a Monarch butterfly waystation. Id love to hear your opinion on it. Thank you!
Great video very helpful for my crepe Myrtle bush. I also have a crepe Myrtle tree with one trunk. It is very attractive. I don’t want to trim it for shape, but should I trim off the dead blossoms to encourage flowering? Thank you!
The Crape Myrtle is so beautiful and will bloom it’s heart out all season long. You don’t have to prune the spent blooms off. It drops them off naturally unless you just want to. I never do.
Thank you for the video! Super helpful. I don't see a whole lot of even growth on my crape myrtle even though it's May this year. New shoots are growing from the bottom but not a lot from the remaining tall stems. Do you think they died over the winter because of the freeze?
Late comment but the freeze last year definitely hurt a lot of my plants!
I have 5 Black Diamond Crape Myrtles we planted about 4 years ago. I have not committed crape murder, but I haven't had a good plan in place for their growth. They are in a row across the back fence. It's time to prune and they have grown at an uneven rate. Some of them have branches sprouting up almost 12 feet tall. Others don't shoot up at the same rate and top out around 8 feet. I think I understand what to do with the lower branches from watching this video. Please advise how to handle the tops. Should I try to even them up? I want to prune correctly this year which means taking your suggestions of getting down to 5 main branches. The goal is to let them grown into small trees. Thank you! This video is really helpful since you are actually showing us how you prune and not just taking about it!!
Hi there! I’m so glad you are asking questions first. That’s the key. I would cut the tall shoots but be careful not to top them. Just make careful thought out cuts and know that trees are forgiving. Look at each branch and see how you want it to grow, then cut it like I show in the video. If you have any other questions feel free to ask! I’m happy to help 😀. You’ve got this!
@@thesoutherndaisyllc Thank you!!! I will take a look at the trees and see where the longer branches start and go from there.
I have a similar situation. I've found the black diamond type crepe myrtle's to be very susceptible to insect and disease, even if treated. The larger ones I purchased have done a bit better but overall uneven growth and success even with knowledgeable intention. good luck
We purchased our home a couple of years ago and we have a large crape myrtle growing close to the front right corner of the house. I has 5 trunks about 5 to 6" in diameter. I'm guessing this tree is 7 years old and has never been pruned other than me trimming a couple branches was either touching the roof, or in the way when mowing. Any suggestions on how to tackle pruning this tree. I have another tree in the front yard that's about half the size of the larger one. I don't know if it's a different kind or just needs some care and fertilization. BTW several people in my neighborhood committed "Crape Murder" and I was about to do the same before I found your video. Thank you for saving my trees.
Wow!!! You made making this video worth every second! Thank you for sharing.
So your big tree, does it need to be pruned? Are you looking to cut it back to take some height off? It sounds like it’s growing well has great trunks and just needs minimal pruning.
If you want to cut it back just do not give it a “flat top”. Step back and look at the branches. Cut holding your loppers or pruners like I show in the video. Make thought-out cuts. Cut each branch individually. Feel free to ask questions. I’ll be happy to help you.
Great tutorial 🌺
Thank you, Karen. ❤️
Thanks for your expertise! I have used sucker punch at the base of my Crape Myrtle successfully. Can I use it further up the tree to keep new branches from sprouting out? It seems that me tree grows new branches after I cut them away. thanks.
Question>. Is it not advised to control the height of crape myrtles? As I watched the video I came to the conclusion that to control the height you would take out the tallest branches from the base.Thanks
Thanks great information
Thank you so much. ❤️
How much do you trim off the top usually? Mine is 1 yrs old and new to this tree. Thank you!
Not much and don’t prune unless you have to. It’s not necessary to prune unless hog need to.
My crapemyrtles have been knuckled in the past. Wanting to correct this where/how do you start?
I just posted a video where an arborist explained how to make this work. It does take time but his directions are really good.
Now you have some good kindling
Right! Its a great use for my fire pit :-) Thanks for watching!!!
how to make crape myrtle grow into a low bush? I planted four of them in my front yard and i want them to be more of a low shrub .
Hi, so there are different varieties of Crape Myrtles. Some that are trees and then there are others that are a shrub Crape Myrtle. If you didn't buy a shrub Crape Myrtle you will have a long fight on your hands and a tree that will really never conform to a shrub like you are desiring. My best advice is to maybe replant those trees somewhere else and buy the right type of 'shrub' Crape for the look you desire. This is of course assuming the four you planted are the tree variety. The shrubs look more like a ball than a tree and the trees are the opposite. Feel free to send me a picture of what you have to my email and I can help you with that. kim@thesoutherndaisy.com. Hope that helps you. Have a great day and thank you for watching!
Very helpful! I want to find a a bush that is tall and slender to provide dappled shade for my hot deck. It gets so hot in the summer. Is a crape Myrtle a good option if I prune it so it only has a few trunks? Thank you! 🌷
1, 3 or 5 trunks is the best crape myrtle tree structure in my opinion. Odd numbers look better also. I’m pruning mine to 1 trunk. I have over 100 in pots.
How soon do you cut a crepe myrtle
February to March
Do you cut them on fall season or winter?
I’m in NC zone 7b so here it’s always late Jan early Feb. you want it to be dormant (no leaves on it during the winter months)
@@thesoutherndaisyllc Thank you so much 🙏😊.
Can you tell us how to strip or peel the bark so the suckers don't come up on the bottom of a mature tree
There is nothing you can do to prevent that. Only thing you can do it pop them off when you see them come up
@@thesoutherndaisyllc THANK YOU!
@@lanirussell4749 anytime!
Best time to prune these kinda trees ?? Seems like fall or maybe winter where your from .. but if you live in Texas BEST time to prune myrtle trees ???
Hey, so I am in zone 7b in NC The best time for me is January or February. Will you share with me your zone and I will give you that time. So what you are looking for is while the tree is still without its leaves and nearing the end of the winter season.
@thesoutherndaisyllc 9a zone is what I see from the map .. but new to gardening and planting trees .. so south of San Antonio TX.
I just bought and planted 2 crepe myrtles this past fall. Is it okay to prune them like this when they are fairly new? Thanks I just recently found you thru another UA-camr
I’m so excited you found me. Yay! Sure it’s ok to prune them when they are young but is it necessary? Be selective in your cuts. Make sure you cut any crossing branches and enjoy your trees. Great question 😊
I have a Crepe but really not sure if I would prune it right.😔
I bet you would do just fine. Jusy stop and think before each cut. Mainly of any branches rub together, cut one of them. If one is going a crazy direction cut that one and if you want the shape different trim it to look better or lower. I believe in you!!☺️
What zone are you in?
I’m in zone 7b
@@thesoutherndaisyllc sweet I will keep watching 😍 I am in zone 8. We inherited a monster crape myrtle it was getting up into the power lines and my husband butchered it like so many you see. I will get out there and do what you did here plus trim it down some. Thanks so much!
@@ncflowergirl1446 oh goodness well at least there’s hope. It’s ok it happens and luckily they are able to hang on and thrive. I know you’ll get it right. Thanks for watching
@@thesoutherndaisyllc I finally got out there yesterday and cleaned up my big crepe myrtle. It was hard not to get disgusted and want to get the chainsaw and start over 🤪 I got it done except for a few tight interior limbs that I need a tiny saw for but I am excited I might actually get some decent flowers this year. Thanks so much for putting your video out there 😍
@@ncflowergirl1446 see look at that you did it! I’m proud of you for taking the time And not using the chainsaw and starting over. I know it is going to be gorgeous. You are most welcome.
Looks like it got headed. Hate to see that. Cut in down and start over.
Hi Joe, it actually filled in beautifully after this pruning over the summer and was so vibrant. This is at a rental property so there wasn’t an option to cut it down. I agree when it’s cut incorrectly it’s hard to want to keep it but so glad we did. Worked out beautifully.
I gave this video a thumbs down because after watching it, you said you would prune the tree differently if it were yours. What would you do to prune the crape myrtle? That's what I came to find out.
Let’s see if I can explain better to get the thumb to go up instead. 😊. My daughter was renting that house. She didn’t own the property therefore the trees weren’t hers to decide what extent they could be pruned. I wanted to do a tutorial on pruning to share but didn’t have access to another property with Crape Myrtles. If it were my own tree or I was working for the homeowner I would have pruned a little more of the branches. Nothing that I was hiding or that would change the outcome of the video. It was using the same technique I showed. I’m going to show another one of a friends that I have permission to do what needs doing to film hopefully next week.
So does that clear it up? I hope that changes your mind 😊
I gave this a thumbs up, because Kim, you are AweSome! I love your enthusiasm in sharing your knowledge, thank you. I am glad I found your channel, I tell everyone about you. I look forward to your videos!!!!
@@Marie-1964 that is so incredibly nice of you. Wow! You know I keep saying that I should save these comments so that when I feel sad or lacking confidence I can remember what good people you are! Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I truly appreciate the thumbs up and your words!
@@thesoutherndaisyllcsome people are just dense. Even after explaining something to them three times, you just get a blank expression on their face. 😂
in California, I only saw these as single trunk street trees, but now, in the South, I want multi-trunks to stand up to the wind!
The single ones will stand up too. Their trunks are super strong.