It’s currently time to trim crape myrtles. If you want to avoid unsightly knots in your tree’s branches, you need to prune them properly.
The best time to do this is in January-February, while the tree is dormant. There are also fewer bugs that like to feed on crape myrtle sap to worry about.
Crape myrtles don’t need to be pruned to be healthy, so it just depends on the space you have around your tree and what shape you like. If the branches are touching the sides of your house, it’s a good idea to cut them back to keep pests away from the home.
To start, remove any suckers from the base of the crape myrtles. Next, you can start from the top and make angled cuts along the canopy. It’s best to only cut branches that are a pencil width in diameter or smaller. You’ll also want to leave 12–24 inches of the limbs to avoid over-trimming.
If you cut too far down on the tree, it will form knots as it grows back that can take years to get rid of. This can be seen when inexperienced gardeners take a chainsaw to their poor crape myrtles. It’s nicknamed crape murder, and it can leave your tree weak and susceptible to disease. It also just looks terrible!
If you have any questions, let us know!
We offer monthly landscape maintenance and can help with pruning if you like.
