My crepe myrtle is a disaster.

Crapemyrtle trees bloom on the new growth, so any pruning that is needed should be done prior to new growth beginning- for most of the south, this will be from mid February through mid March. Crapemyrtles are often one of the last plants to begin growing in the garden, waiting on warmer temperatures; so don’t worry if February is slipping away on you.

Oct 22, Most crepe myrtles that have not been pruned tend to flower more heavily, which is another reason you may wish to avoid pruning it. However, pruned crepe myrtles do typically produce larger flower panicles, so if this is something you want to achieve, then pruning after flowering could be a Estimated Reading Time: 8 mins. Dec 10, So with that being said, it pays to prune your Crape Myrtles in the winter months as soon as November at as late at March when they are dormant.

The good news is most Crape Myrtles can be pruned with hand held shears or long handles loppers.

Flowers are not the only virtue of this tree.

If yours are way out of control, then a chainsaw might be necessary in the most extreme cases. Jun 05, We've all seen over-pruning, when each and every year people chop crape myrtles back too far, and those ugly"knuckles" or giant"fists" begin to form. These fists grow larger every year when gardeners and lawn care"professionals" cut the previous years branches all the way to the knuckles. Jan 25, According to Dan Gill, LSU Ag Center Horticulturist, an unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to lop off their tops, which results in a tree reduced to large branches ending in stubs.