Prune crape myrtles in late winter to encourage strong new growth and flower production. Avoid pruning in spring, summer, or fall to prevent cutting off new flowers and stressing the tree. Never top ...

I usually wait until mid-January to write something on this topic but this week I saw my first severe pruning of a crape myrtle for this dormant season earlier this month. So, instead of visions of ...

This improperly pruned crape myrtle tree has undergone “crape murder,” which is when the entire crown of the crape myrtle tree is cut off. Courtesy of Leaf & Limb, a Raleigh-based tree care company ...

Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia) are trees with aspirations to be big shrubs. Leave a tree alone and eventually most will send up lots of shoots from the base and turn into something more akin to a large ...

You’ve probably seen crape myrtle trees pruned to look like a coat rack. Hopefully, you’re not guilty of doing this. The term “crape murder” was coined to describe this drastic topping of crape ...

If you have a spot for a specimen shrub or tree, consider planting a crape myrtle. They are cold hardy, produce attractive flowers, and may also provide some free pest control. Since we are on the ...

Somehow, the belief that crape myrtles should be brutally pruned by cutting off their tops persists, even though it's inaccurate. Crape murder is a term that has been coined to describe this severe ...

I enjoy living n a heavily wooded area; that's why I oppose over-pruning of any tree. Sure, we do need to prune trees if they are in a urban setting and they are a danger to power lines, but we have a ...

Now’s the time of year you’re most likely to see naked crape myrtle trees, the unfortunate consequence of improper wintertime pruning. The practice has even been given a not-so-affectionate nickname: ...