Now is the ideal time to prune crape myrtles in Atlanta & surrounding counties (middle of February). You may have seen crape myrtles being pruned as early as December--very early--now, is the time. Some may argue the merits of pruning crape myrtles, however, one of the virtues of these beauties is their ability to take pruning well--if done properly. Here is a list of how-to pointers:
- Prune at the right time. For Atlanta / North Georgia, that would be the second half of February.
- Determine that you have a tree form crape myrtle
- Get a good pair of pruners and loppers
- First, clean up any suckers growing from the ground.
- For young multi-trunk trees, consider pairing down to three or four trunks.
- Older multi-trunk trees, think long before cutting into a thick trunk
- Pair smaller branches and suckers off of the trunks
- Prune back the smallest branches at each fork, leaving two or three at each fork.
- To control height, select a height, depending on surrounding structures, and top branches across at an even height, or with a slightly rounded contour.
Care must be taken in branch selection when topping crape myrtles over a multi-year time span.
- Make pruning cuts at selectively increasing heights when pruning over multiple seasons.
- Do not prune at the same spot each year, or your trees will develop those knotted, knobby growths.
Please note: It is not necessary to top crape myrtles. Topping does not encourage blooming. Topping is done to control height or spread.
Abdurrahim is the lead designer at Proudland Landscape, LLC, a metro-Atlanta based firm. For questions or comments you can leave your comments on this article, email him at a.jalal@proudlandlandscape.com. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/Proudland.
Comments