"escapee" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 6 May 2004 15:15:59 -0500, "RoyDMercer"

opined:

I beg to differ. There are only a handful of dwarf varieties and not one
of
them requires the treatment of heavy pruning. A tree or shrub which
flowers on
new growth does so naturally. When you cut a crape to an inch of its
life, sure
it's going to bloom excessively. It is trying to make seeds to continue
its own
survival in nature. It's sort of like the false economy. We are being
told how
it's growing at the fastest rate, when really it's only starting to
recover,
masked at recovery. Anyone with a portfolio knows what I'm talking about.

Political statement aside (Anybody But Bush), pruning crape myrtles is
absolutely not necessary for the plant to bloom.

I didn't mention dwarf varieties in particular. There's hundreds of
cultivars of crape myrtles including many more than a handful of dwarfs.
There's also tall, medium, and minis. Each year new cultivars are produced.
Commercial growers run under the same scenario for just about all plants.
The patent on new cultivars runs out after a few years and growers lose
exclusive rights to them. So they produce new cultivars each year. You may
be referring to species. There are only 3 species under the genus, but
there are hundreds of varieties, hybrids, or cultivars whatever you want to
call them.

I think it's very poor advice to tell someone pruning all crape myrtles is
absolutely not necessary to get them to bloom well. Certainly they will
bloom some if left alone, but most people are going to want them to bloom
profusely. I wouldn't advocate heavy pruning unless one had been neglected
for several years. Light pruning is all that's necessary if done on a
yearly basis. You can also deadhead old blooms to get them to bloom more
throughout the blooming season.

The very article you quoted in this very thread says pruning of crape
myrtles is "required". I'll repost the link in case you wish to read it
again: http://www.plantdelights.com/Tony/crape.html