Happy Friday! There’s still time left to trim your crape myrtles. If you plan on trimming them yourself, make sure you don’t commit crape murder! This happens when you trim so far down on the tree that it causes damage once it grows back. Trimming that far down causes the knots on many trees around town. This not only makes the tree look gnarled, it leaves the tree susceptible to disease and pests after it’s trimmed like that.
Instead, we recommend leaving at least 12-24 inches of your crape myrtle’s limbs and not trimming branches bigger than a pencil width in diameter. If your crape myrtle is in the middle of the yard, you don’t even have to trim it if you don’t want to. It only needs to be trimmed to keep a certain shape or to keep limbs off the house/fence.
We hope this helps! We beg you not to engage in crape murder. These trees are innocent!! Trimming them properly will make them healthier and look better. If you need a more detailed guide, head to matthewslandscape.com to watch our videos on trimming crape myrtles. We’re also here to answer any questions and are happy to come trim your trees if you’d like. Have a good weekend!
