My husband and I went to dinner last night and made some new friends.
We had lively conversation, and eventually it turned to Crape Myrtles.
(Imagine that?)
The big question of the night was whether or not to commit "crape murder"
on Crape Myrtles. Crape Myrtles don't have to be pruned; they will still
bloom. However, some people see their neighbors pruning them practically
to death so they follow suit. Other times, perhaps the plant has gotten
too big for the space. Some pruning is good, just be careful not to prune
too drastically--you can’t glue it back on! You can however root them.
The first question is what kind of Crape Myrtle is it? Is it a tree-type
or a shrub-type?
If you have a tree type (7 to 15 ft.) make sure you cut all those
little shoots or suckers around and toward the bottom of the trunk.
Much like pruning an apple tree you should cut those branches that
cross in the center or grow toward the inside of the tree. You want
to keep the branches that grow up and out. Then you’ll want to cut the
remaining branches down to where the diameter is about 1/4 inch
around. Remember you want to create air movement and optimum sun light
in and around the tree. Crape Myrtle trees bloom in white, light
pink, dark pink, lavender, purple and red.
If you have a shrub type (3 to 6 ft.) you can shape it as you’d like a
bit shorter than you’d want because it will fill in that space during
the summer months. Crape Myrtle shrubs come in white, pink, lavender and red.
Late winter or early spring is the proper time to prune. Prune again
after the first flowers fade to help with the second bloom in
summer.You can use 5-10-5 fertilizer in the spring but they are tough
plants so don’t kill them with kindness. They are a lot like Greta
Garbo. “They vont to be left alone”.
We had lively conversation, and eventually it turned to Crape Myrtles.
(Imagine that?)
The big question of the night was whether or not to commit "crape murder"
on Crape Myrtles. Crape Myrtles don't have to be pruned; they will still
bloom. However, some people see their neighbors pruning them practically
to death so they follow suit. Other times, perhaps the plant has gotten
too big for the space. Some pruning is good, just be careful not to prune
too drastically--you can’t glue it back on! You can however root them.
The first question is what kind of Crape Myrtle is it? Is it a tree-type
or a shrub-type?
If you have a tree type (7 to 15 ft.) make sure you cut all those
little shoots or suckers around and toward the bottom of the trunk.
Much like pruning an apple tree you should cut those branches that
cross in the center or grow toward the inside of the tree. You want
to keep the branches that grow up and out. Then you’ll want to cut the
remaining branches down to where the diameter is about 1/4 inch
around. Remember you want to create air movement and optimum sun light
in and around the tree. Crape Myrtle trees bloom in white, light
pink, dark pink, lavender, purple and red.
If you have a shrub type (3 to 6 ft.) you can shape it as you’d like a
bit shorter than you’d want because it will fill in that space during
the summer months. Crape Myrtle shrubs come in white, pink, lavender and red.
Late winter or early spring is the proper time to prune. Prune again
after the first flowers fade to help with the second bloom in
summer.You can use 5-10-5 fertilizer in the spring but they are tough
plants so don’t kill them with kindness. They are a lot like Greta
Garbo. “They vont to be left alone”.
No comments:
Post a Comment