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Crape murder

Crape murder

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by: MarT Active Indicator LED Icon 9 OP 
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 1:08pm  
We bought a house we a few crape myrtles, which I think are beautiful, but I am not familiar with.  It seems as if the previous owners have always severely pruned them back.  I've seen this referred to as "crape murder".  Landscaper says they need pruning, that's the way they do it here.  Since they've been pruned back for so long, can you just stop doing it, and will it look okay? 4951
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mutton Active Indicator LED Icon 9
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 1:16pm  
Had some along driveway, dh pruned them down to the ground, lol. He hated the mess left on cars so we planted something else... 4951
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ET Active Indicator LED Icon 17
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 1:44pm  
Since they've been pruned back for so long, can you just stop doing it, and will it look okay?Yup, may look a little knobby at first but as the branches thicken it will get better. 4951
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msuz Active Indicator LED Icon 6
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 4:59pm  
I hate that look!  Guess you could cut back a few of the branches to the ground this spring and then gradually get a more normal shape back?   Saw one beside a patio in SW Houston once that hadbeen shaped with the branches twined around each other. It was beautiful winter and summer. Such gorgeous wood.... 4951
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fcabanski Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 5:01pm  
I prune mine each year but only a bit.  They look good in the summer. 4951
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Ducatisti Active Indicator LED Icon 8
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 6:09pm  
I hate when they are pruned back. We have two that are taller than our 2-story house. Those beautiful blossoms are so cheerful outside my bedroom window. A neighbor referred to it as looking like a pink cloud hovering over my house. 4951
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angiekaye Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 6:31pm  
Mine are taller than my home also. Planted them as seedlings right the day we signed the mortgage papers. In 18 years I have yet to prune them at all. Mine are full and beautiful come early spring 4951
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sh56 Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 6:34pm  
If they already have the big ol' knobby "knees" on them from bad pruning, try cutting them back just below the knobs.  It will take some time for the branches to come back and get big, but IMO looks so much better than those mutant-looking bulges. 4951
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sh56 Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 6:36pm  
Then you can groom the grown in branches , eliminating the scrawny ones and leaving  the larger ones.  Instead of pruning thereafter, just keep them cleaned up and shaped. 4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 7:14pm  
A landscaper told me that crape myrtles only blossom from new growth every year.  When you severely prune your bush, several branches of new growth will sprout from the ends near the cuts. While that may produce more flowers, if you prune at/near the same spot, you get that swollen knobby look.  it looks very un-natural to me.The only pruning I do is to thin out smaller branches and any dead branches. 4951
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cgm10sne1 Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 7:18pm  
I severely prune and I'm way southern. They grow fast
And will be nice and full. 4951
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Humbletexan1 Active Indicator LED Icon 1
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 7:38pm  
Hubby prunes our back every year and they are just gorgeous!  I love them! 4951
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jax Active Indicator LED Icon 16
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 7:52pm  
Oh dear...I'm not gonna say it.
 
4951
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Retired_Engineer Active Indicator LED Icon 13
~ 9 years ago   Jan 24, '15 7:54pm  
Oh dear...I'm not gonna say it.
 
 
@jax:  Go ahead!
4951
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WskyTngoFxtrt Active Indicator LED Icon 10
~ 9 years ago   Jan 25, '15 5:30am  
I hate that look!  Guess you could cut back a few of the branches to the ground this spring and then gradually get a more normal shape back?   Saw one beside a patio in SW Houston once that hadbeen shaped with the branches twined around each other. It was beautiful winter and summer. Such gorgeous wood....
 
@msuz: TWSS. And thank you.
4951
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donnatella Active Indicator LED Icon 13 Forum Moderator
~ 9 years ago   Jan 25, '15 5:34am  

- - - - - - - -
>> I hate that look!  Guess you could cut back a few of the branches to the ground this spring and then gradually get a more normal shape back?   Saw one beside a patio in SW Houston once that hadbeen shaped with the branches twined around each other. It was beautiful winter and summer. Such gorgeous wood....
 
@msuz: TWSS. And thank you.
 
@WskyTngoFxtrt: Useless without pics!
4951
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