Chuck Weber, City Forester, Huntsville, AL

"A terrible crime ... is sweeping the garden. Some call it pruning. We call it 'crepe murder. ' " With these words the January 1997 issue of Southern Living took a strong stand against the yearly ritual of lopping the tops off crapemyrtles. ⁽¹⁾

Another common reason, according to Huntsville nurseryman and crapemyrtle specialist David Byers, is trying to fit a tree-sized plant into a shrub-sized space. "If crapemyrtle is sized properly, cruel pruning can be avoided," he writes. The trick is to select the right variety: first consider mature size and winter-hardiness, and disease resistance, and then other factors - flower color, season of bloom, fall foliage, and bark display ⁽²⁾ - - click here for a Crapemyrtle Selection Chart with over 50 of the best varieties in various size ranges.

Sometimes people head back crapemyrtles in the winter because they want to be doing something and can't think of anything else. Go skiing, instead. Or better yet, read David Byers' crapemyrtle book. But don't ruin your crapemyrtles.

What's wrong with "Heading Back"? One problem is esthetic. Byers writes that heading back "...destroys the natural beauty of a plant...." But he adds that heading back also "unnecessarily exposes the resulting growth to breakage from ice or wind. The pencil-size stems often cannot support the weight of a full-size flower, especially when wet."

Remember that any topping cut invites serious decay. All the wood around a serious injury may rot out, if the tree's natural defenses can not intervene. Trees have no natural defenses against topping cuts, nor can any wound dressing or cutting technique protect the plant from the decay that will spread down through the stem below the cut.

For more on this, run a Google search for "Compartmentalization of Decay in Trees," a concept developed by Dr. Alex Shigo.

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So how should we prune crapemyrtles? "If done correctly," writes Linda Askey in Southern Living, "the pruning goes unnoticed. Think of it as training. By enhancing the natural habit of the tree, you guide your crepe myrtle⁽¹⁾ into a form that is both handsome and easy to maintain." Here's how....

The best pruning for any woody plant is lateral, directional, and preventive. Lateral pruning means making a clean cut just past a side branch, so that enough leaf area remains to feed the part of the branch left in place. The remaining lateral should be at least one-third of the diameter of what is cut off. Directional pruning means that new growth on the remaining lateral is aimed away from buildings, power lines, walkways, etc. Preventive pruning means making small pruning cuts, early in a plant's life, so as to prevent big problems later.

Click here for "clear instructions, with great pictures " from the US Forest Service,
showing how pruning should be done.

IF YOUR CRAPEMYRTLES HAVE BEEN
ROUNDED OVER IN THE PAST...

... often the best answer is to cut the plants back to the ground and let them start over. They have a tremendous root system that will rapidly power them back to productivity. It's not unusual for a tall-growing variety to reach 6-8' in height during the first growing season after cutting, and to regain its full height within two growing seasons. And since crapemyrtles bloom on new wood, a plant rescued in early spring will usually not miss a blooming season.

The goal has two parts: first, to have stems that do not grow together at the base with pockets of "included bark" between them. And second, to have a natural branching structure in the upper part of the plant.

Choose the best 1-5 sprouts emerging from the stump. A single stem, with wide branch angles, is the strongest shape for any tree-form plant, but this is less important for plants with a smaller mature size. Select sprouts that are attached to the stump within 1" of the ground, so they will grow their own root systems and not be affected when the original stump eventually rots away. Prune off all other sprouts, just at the collar where they emerge.

Remove additional sprouts every 2-3 weeks as the plant recovers. If you catch them early, they can be rubbed off with a gloved hand; or if you catch them just before they harden off, they can simply be snapped off. An alternative to removing additional sprouts every 2-3 weeks is a sprout-inhibiting plant hormone such as Tre-Hold.

And as regrowth continues, be sure to prune the plants properly -- see below.

A PRACTICAL EXAMPLE OF CRAPEMURDER RECOVERY IN DECATUR

The Hort staff at Auburn has been working with the City of Decatur to renovate hundreds of crapemyrtles that were "crapemurdered" there. To read about it, click here and scroll down to "CRAPEMYRTLE"

IF YOU HAVE GOOD PLANTS THAT HAVE
NEVER BEEN "CRAPE-MURDERED"...

Prune out deadwood and damaged branches, and recurrent branches that grow back through the crown of a tree. Where two branches chafe against each other or compete for the same space, prune out the weaker one -- or both, if they have been seriously damaged. And especially, prune out the poorer side of forks with included bark. Such forks are the main reason why trees and large shrubs split, often destroying themselves and damaging whatever they fall onto.

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1. Authors differ on the proper spelling. Most authorities prefer crape, though some say crepe. Probably a more important choice is whether to use two words, to hyphenate, or to run the words together. A borrowed name -- 'myrtle' in this case -- does not stand as a separate word in another tree's name; it should be hyphenated or wholly included. A crapemyrtle is not a myrtle, so its name should be hyphenated or run together. "Crapemyrtle" is the best choice.

2. Note: David Byers' book, Crapemyrtle - A Grower's Thoughts. Copies are available from the Huntsville-Madison County Botanical Garden, 4747 Bob Wallace Ave., SW, Huntsville, AL 35805, telephone (256) 830-4447.

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