On Monday, August 17, 1998 4:00:00 PM UTC+9, vincent wrote:
I prune 'em fairly hard late winter, early spring, about the time buds
start to swell. I don't have a copy here to check, but my failing
memory tells me that I got that advice years ago from Sunset's Western
Gardens.

FWIW, when I was in Italy I noticed that Italian gardeners prune them
very hard, back to 4-5" diameter wood, annually. When I noticed this
it was early in the year, before they leafed out, so I'm not sure what
kind of growth they get. In any case, I saw it everywhere I saw crepe
myrtles there.



"Botany" wrote:


I was curious as to what is the best pruning practice for Crepe Myrtles. =
After=20
they flower, or During flowering?

Depending on whether you want your crepe myrtle to look more like a bush or a tree dictates how you prune it, whether close to trunk and leaving only 1 - 3 main trunks or if you let it be a bit more bushy and wild. As far as when you should trim your crepe myrtle, if you live colder climates where freezes happen somewhat regularly you should trim it late spring. If you live in warmer climates where cold snaps aren't as common you can prune it a bit early in late winter or early spring. You want to prune your crepe myrtle late enough so you can see what the damage from the winter is but not so early that a cold snap will kill new growth. If you want some more detail about specifically how and when to trim a crepe myrtle you can take a look at this page:
http://mycrepemyrtle.com/pruning-crepe-myrtle/

Hope this helps! Happy gardening!

Please, please reconsider. Except for damaged, diseased, or rubbing
branches, crapemyrtles do not need to be pruned at all. They make a
lovely shape all by themselves without help.

M. Reed

wrote:
On Monday, August 17, 1998 4:00:00 PM UTC+9, vincent wrote:
I prune 'em fairly hard late winter, early spring, about the time buds
start to swell. I don't have a copy here to check, but my failing
memory tells me that I got that advice years ago from Sunset's Western
Gardens.

FWIW, when I was in Italy I noticed that Italian gardeners prune them
very hard, back to 4-5" diameter wood, annually. When I noticed this
it was early in the year, before they leafed out, so I'm not sure what
kind of growth they get. In any case, I saw it everywhere I saw crepe
myrtles there.



wrote:


I was curious as to what is the best pruning practice for Crepe Myrtles. =
After=20
they flower, or During flowering?

Depending on whether you want your crepe myrtle to look more like a bush or a tree dictates how you prune it, whether close to trunk and leaving only 1 - 3 main trunks or if you let it be a bit more bushy and wild. As far as when you should trim your crepe myrtle, if you live colder climates where freezes happen somewhat regularly you should trim it late spring. If you live in warmer climates where cold snaps aren't as common you can prune it a bit early in late winter or early spring. You want to prune your crepe myrtle late enough so you can see what the damage from the winter is but not so early that a cold snap will kill new growth. If you want some more detail about specifically how and when to trim a crepe myrtle you can take a look at this page:
http://mycrepemyrtle.com/pruning-crepe-myrtle/

Hope this helps! Happy gardening!