Who cares crepe or crape..
now.. who's up for some crappy fishing?
lucy

"RoyDMercer" wrote in message
...
"Jay Casey" wrote in message
...
I pruned my Crape Myrtles.
I noticed that Crape Myrtles in my neighborhood that were not pruned
flower earlier, more, and better than those that were pruned.
Does pruning really help?
Does pruning have anything to do with flowering at all?
I am thinking about not touching them next year.

When a Crepe Myrtle starts to bloom has more to do with its variety. Some
varieties start blooming in May while others don't start until late July.
I
have some Crepes in my yard that are blooming profusely and some that
haven't even started yet. I planed this strategically when I chose my
varieties so that I would have color from spring until fall. Crepes
typically bloom for 3 months or so. So the ones that start earlier will
also finish earlier. However some varieties only bloom for about 70 days
while others may bloom for 120 days. I have a Natchez (white) and a
couple
of Muskogees (lavender) which bloom for about 4 months.

Crepe Myrtles, like most flowering perennials, only bloom on new growth.
What I do, is I keep mine to 4-5 trunks and I prune out all diseased
and/or
dead wood early in the spring. I also prune out all the leaves to a few
feet up for appearances. Topping a Crepe is not recommended. Fertilize
in
the early spring with a fertilizer that is appropriate for flowing
perennials and your soil type. If you dead head old blooms, you will get
more repeats faster.