Overgrown Crape Myrtle

[corey4671]

I had one last month that was a good six feet above the roof line on a two story house. Customer said it was scaring hi kids everytime it rained because the branches were rubbing the windows. I cut it back to about eight feet. He freaked but I assured him it will bloom back out this summer just fine. No telling how long this had been neglected.

[weeze]

i wish i had some before pics. they were almost 3 times as tall as they are in the pics before i cut them lol.

[weeze]

Originally Posted by Smallaxe

Looking at the pictures I was wondering if Crape Myrtle is on of those bushes that could be encouraged to fill in more from the base up...
I know some people like that open design for a tree that size, and up next to the house I suppose it would be just fine,,, but I like the leaves to start where the undergrowth bushes stop...

We can't grow those things this far north, but I'm curious,,, would the myrtle branch out closer to the base if you took the branch covering the window down about half its current size???

actually they do grow from the base up. the trunks start out as small branches coming out of the ground. if you kept cutting the branches at ground level every year you would always have crape mrytle bushes so to speak. if you don't cut them the branches get bigger and bigger and become trunks.

i don't think they make good bushes though because the branches are so scraggly looking and not tight like a normal bush. they grow long and outward sagging down. it's best when they first start growing to trim all the branches off except for 1 and let that one get bigger and become the main trunk. then you have branches that will grow off of that main trunk making a nice looking tree. you'll still have to cut other branches that try to grow up from the ground next to the trunk though. if you let them go you get what you see in the original pic of this thread at the top.

[Grasssales2001]

Why not just plant the proper cultivar initially? There are hundreds if not thousands of cultivars of crape myrtles. They range in size from 3-4' all the way to 25-30'. If the space calls for a 6-8' crape myrtle, plant one that attains a height of 6-8' when mature. Why hassle with all the yearly " whacking" one back?

[Smallaxe]

Originally Posted by JasonsLawnCare1

actually they do grow from the base up. the trunks start out as small branches coming out of the ground. if you kept cutting the branches at ground level every year you would always have crape mrytle bushes so to speak. if you don't cut them the branches get bigger and bigger and become trunks.

i don't think they make good bushes though because the branches are so scraggly looking and not tight like a normal bush. they grow long and outward sagging down. it's best when they first start growing to trim all the branches off except for 1 and let that one get bigger and become the main trunk. then you have branches that will grow off of that main trunk making a nice looking tree. you'll still have to cut other branches that try to grow up from the ground next to the trunk though. if you let them go you get what you see in the original pic of this thread at the top.

I agree,,, that sucker growth from the base is not desirable, I was just wondering if growth could be promoted lower down on the trunk, then let the greenery grow up from there...

[weeze]

Originally Posted by Grasssales2001

Why not just plant the proper cultivar initially? There are hundreds if not thousands of cultivars of crape myrtles. They range in size from 3-4' all the way to 25-30'. If the space calls for a 6-8' crape myrtle, plant one that attains a height of 6-8' when mature. Why hassle with all the yearly " whacking" one back?

of course this is the best way. for some reason noone ever plants the right kind around here. they always plant the big variety right next to houses lol.

[cpllawncare]

Originally Posted by JasonsLawnCare1

of course this is the best way. for some reason noone ever plants the right kind around here. they always plant the big variety right next to houses lol.

They probably don't bother to ask which variety they are buying they assume a crape myrtle is a crape myrtle or the company that installed it didn't care they just planted a crape myrtle which ever one they could buy the cheapest and make the most money on.

[ELS Landscape]

Originally Posted by Smallaxe

I agree,,, that sucker growth from the base is not desirable, I was just wondering if growth could be promoted lower down on the trunk, then let the greenery grow up from there...

Sure cut if it off and it will turn into a shrub

[precision8m]

Do you want to do it correctly? Sure, you can just hack it down and it will probably recover and just regrow with thicker foliage above the cuts. These are trees, and if they don't want trees, they should remove them and plant something else. Others have mentioned it, but there are many other types of crapes that would fit the need better. Or just a different plant. When crapes are hacked like that, it opens them up to disease and pest infestation. I did this at a clients house because they insisted that the trees were too messy around their pool area but they hated to cut down such a beautiful type of tree. The next summer, they looked terrible and eventually got black sooty mold so they had to pay to have them treated. Now, they still don't look good and they are talking about removing them completely. It's all about knowing how to prune. If a customer demands it, then go with it. But if they ask your opinion, be honest and try to avoid hacking a tree into a bush. Crape myrtles never look the same afterward. Best cut is to clean up the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 of the tree depending on its size to create a tree look with a full canopy.

[ELS Landscape]

Originally Posted by precision8m

Do you want to do it correctly? Sure, you can just hack it down and it will probably recover and just regrow with thicker foliage above the cuts. These are trees, and if they don't want trees, they should remove them and plant something else. Others have mentioned it, but there are many other types of crapes that would fit the need better. Or just a different plant. When crapes are hacked like that, it opens them up to disease and pest infestation. I did this at a clients house because they insisted that the trees were too messy around their pool area but they hated to cut down such a beautiful type of tree. The next summer, they looked terrible and eventually got black sooty mold so they had to pay to have them treated. Now, they still don't look good and they are talking about removing them completely. It's all about knowing how to prune. If a customer demands it, then go with it. But if they ask your opinion, be honest and try to avoid hacking a tree into a bush. Crape myrtles never look the same afterward. Best cut is to clean up the bottom 1/2 - 2/3 of the tree depending on its size to create a tree look with a full canopy.

There are many types of these plants. I often call them shrubs that want to be trees. They can be shaped into trees or cut down to shrubs. Neither is right but most will take the abuse. The smaller ones will not I hate it as some are large trees and some are small shrubs. There are thousands of different plants of this breed out there.

Pictures will help! We have no idea of the type but we can guess from photos