Crepe myrtle trees are a lovely and practically essential element of the landscape in the Southern garden. Lovely blossoms cover crepe myrtle trees in the spring. One of the most frequent queries regarding crepe myrtles, like most other trees and shrubs, is how to prune them.
Does a Crepe Myrtle Need to Be Pruned?
We need to examine whether you even need to prune your crepe myrtle before discussing how to prune crepe myrtle trees. Pruning is generally not necessary for the health of the tree, but it is good to keep the tree shaped the way you like. If you want to shape your crepe myrtle tree or if you think the branches are getting too close together, trim them. Apart from that, these Southern beauties don’t require pruning.
When Should Myrtles Be Pruned?
Pruning is necessary before growth starts in the spring to ensure a spectacular display of flowers because crepe myrtle trees only bloom on new wood. This means that the best time to prune a crepe myrtle is between mid-February and mid-March for the majority of the Southern US.
But don’t worry if you fall behind on your springtime gardening tasks. Typically, crepe myrtles are among the last plants in the garden to bloom, giving you more time to visit the area with a pair of pruners if necessary.
Pruning a Crepe Myrtle: A Guide
Regarding the pruning of crepe myrtle trees, there are two schools of thought. There are two types of styles: formal and natural. Let’s examine these two approaches’ distinctions and discuss how to choose the one that best suits your needs:
Pruning in the Natural Style
The majority of the limbs in the tree that might be preventing your crepe myrtle tree from producing its best show can be pruned naturally. A tree’s canopy may be impacted by small problems such as inwardly growing branches, broken branches, branches that are too near to one another or rub against one another.
To create more room inside the tree, you can also cut off smaller inner branches. When pruning crepe myrtle trees naturally, the main branches are left alone to encourage robust, thick trunks.
Formal Style Pruning
When pruning crepe myrtle trees in a formal style, you are pruning for external shape rather than internal openness. Since formal style pruning compels the tree to produce more new wood, which is where blossoms form, it is also believed to promote more blooming.
Depending on how tall and wide you want your crepe myrtle tree to grow, you can decide how to prune it in a formal manner. Just like when you trim a hedge, all branches that are outside the selected dimension are severed. This kind of pruning gives crepe myrtle trees a more formal appearance while maintaining their uniform size and shape within the same landscape setting.
collaborating with landscapers
If you have a professional trimming your crepe myrtle trees, find out what they think is best and make sure you indicate the style you want. You will be let down if your landscaper’s preferred method of pruning your crepe myrtle trees is not what you had in mind, as the two styles are very different.
You have two choices if your landscaper did not properly trim your crepe myrtle trees. One is to just allow the tree to spread out. It will eventually bounce back. The alternative is to hire a different landscaper and give them precise instructions on how to trim the crepe myrtle trees in your yard. To accelerate the healing process, they might be able to trim the tree.
Any landscaping company that tops trees, especially crepe myrtles, should be avoided. Trees harmed by topping may even develop knots in the crepe myrtles. Choose a trustworthy company for your tree pruning needs; ideally, one that employs arborists. By doing this, you can maintain the best-looking landscape and long-term tree health.
