On Mon, 13 Sep 2004 23:23:21 -0400, "orangetrader"
wrote:

I think what I have is a Crape Myrtle Nanchez. The nusery where I bought
them from had a few that are 50' tall and they are definitely of the tree
variety. The one I have is about 20' tall and the main trunk is about 12
inches in diameter.

I don't think I want to cut them back to the ground. I did a search and
some recommend cutting them back and some said this is "crape murder".
Opinions seem to vary. I am very confused now.

"Crape murder," as discussed here within the past few weeks refers to
topping or pollarding, not regular pruning for shape, health, or
damage removal.

While the Natchez variety (white blooms?) is often referred to as a
tree because of its possible mature height, it's not distinct from
other crape myrtles which can be shrubs or trees, depending on climate
and/or pruning.

I am puzzled by your leaf description. Most crape myrtle leaves are
small -- 1" to 3" long. Are you sure this is a crape myrtle? I do seem
to recall a long-ago post about a Florida tree that was famously messy
for dropping leaves. Perhaps some variety unique to the area?

At any rate, you can probably find specific information by searching
on

"crape myrtle" pruning

My experience is with mid-Atlantic trees/bushes which have been
extremely tolerant of pruning from lopping off dangling branch ends to
sawing a 3" limb to keep a cat from climbing on the porch roof.