We just bought a peice of property in South Carolina (the north western corner) which is an old homestead that has been unattended for at least 5 years. There are quite a few huge crapemyrtles on the property that need some TLC. We were there in July and they were blooming sparsely. The vines and weeds from the woods, however, were strangling them. We cut back all the vines to start, but I need to know when and how to prune them to bring them back to good health.
Right now they are all about 25 feet tall.
We saw some crape myrtles in July in the area that were pruned WAY back, and it seemed like an odd time of year to prune a tree, but last week they were all green and bushed out. Should we have pruned ours in July?
I would appreciate any help.
They are beautiful trees and I don't want to hurt them.
Thanks!
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The Helpful Gardener
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The Helpful Gardener
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I don't' mean to contradict the advice above, but most crepes need to be pruned about this time of year. We use a technique we call "pencil pruning" which means cutting each branch back to the diameter of a pencil. This pruning will remove all of the old seed pods and give you a new foundation for this springs growth. Crepes bloom on new wood so you won't be pruning off flower buds. I know that pruning all of the individual branches may seem like a daunting task, but it is one of the better methods. I hope this helps!
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The Helpful Gardener
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I'd say may favorites are 'Natchez' and 'Fantasy'. Both flower white and have AWESOME cinnamon colored bark. I think the coloration of the bark is even more impressive than the flowers. 'Townhouse' is another good one for its orange colored bark (white flowers again).
If I had to pick a favorite based on flower color I'd probably say 'Dynamite' or 'Red Rocket' (being a N.C. State guy I've gotta pick red
).
If I had to pick a favorite based on flower color I'd probably say 'Dynamite' or 'Red Rocket' (being a N.C. State guy I've gotta pick red
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The Helpful Gardener
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