Texas Crepe Myrtle is “Queen of the South”

Is it spelled “Crepe Myrtle” or “Crape Myrtle”? The flower is named after the blooms, which resemble crepe paper, and because of that, I have always spelled it as “crepe”. Historically, though, “crape” has been preferred, and either spelling is accepted.

Although native to China and Korea, the crepe myrtle is perhaps the most popular large shrub or small landscape tree planted in Texas, Texas designated the crepe myrtle as the state shrub in 1997. It is among the toughest, most adaptable, and showiest plants grown in Texas. The crepe myrtle, distinguished by its usually multi-trunked smooth, muscular limbs, grows to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide, with mature trunks ranging from 4” to 12” in diameter. Crepe myrtles need a couple of years to be established; after that, they are some of our lowest-maintenance landscaping plants. Proper care will be rewarded in growth and blooms. Remove dead/diseased wood and shaping in late winter/early spring to encourage blooms on new wood without damaging the natural form. Here are some pruning pointers. Pruning is not a means of controlling height or width of a crepe myrtle, so “topping” a crepe myrtle is a very bad move. If the plant is too large for the space where it’s planted, either move it or remove it entirely.

All crape myrtles are shrubs genetically. Even after removing side shoots to train crape myrtles to treeform, they are likely to send out sprouts and return to growing as shrubs. Those sprouts must be cut completely flush with the trunk for a year or two. Eventually, the plant will quit producing them.

Removing seed heads will not hasten additional blooming cycles during the growing season. Don’t do it.

There is no need to remove dry seed heads from the ends of the branches over the winter, either. Instead, let the end 5 or 6 inches of the shoots die back due to the cold. New growth begins in the spring, and those ends and the seed heads attached to them will fall to the ground. Again, do not be tempted to top the plants to get the job done more quickly.

Ever heard, “Timing is everything?” Crepe myrtles can have unwanted branches and trunks removed at any time of the year. But, the best time to prune a crepe myrtle is in late winter or early spring, before new growth starts. This will encourage strong growth and abundant blooms, as they flower on new wood. Before pruning, consider why.

Lastly, train crepe myrtles to tree-form during Winter. Their growth habits can be seen while they’re devoid of foliage. Notice the natural rope around the crepe myrtle in the late Spring photograph. This week in Winter, it will be wrapped a little higher and tighter.

Let’s examine tools for pruning. Firstly, sanitize your pruning tools. To remove sprouts flush with trunks, use bypass pruning shears. They feature two sharpened blades that pass each other like scissors, making clean, precise cuts on live, green stems without bruising. They are better than anvil-type shears at making those clean cuts. For cutting larger branches and trunks with leverage, use long-handled lopping shears; they allow cutting larger branches and trunks with leverage. Lastly, a pruning saw may be needed to remove trunks and branches larger than 3/4inch in diameter.

There are four basic pruning methods. 1) Make each pruning cut flush with the remaining branch or with the main trunk. 2) Do not leave any stubs. Stubs provide unsightly branch angles as new shorts emerge. 3) Encourage outward growth (a good thing) by pruning above buds that face away from the centers of the crepe myrtle. 4) After following correct pruning practices, pruning sealant pain is not needed, not even recommended.

Again, train crepe myrtles to tree-form during winter. All crepe myrtles naturally grow as shrubs, otherwise! During its first 12-18 months, allow the crepe myrtle to develop 810 trunks. When the plant is 5-6 ft. tall, select the strongest, straightest 6-7 trunks, and remove the others clear to the ground. After those 67 trunks have become sturdy and able to stand on their own (usually by the end of their second growing season), remove all but the ones you want to be your permanent trunks. Always prune to an odd number, probably 3 or 5 trunks.

Remove side branches as the plant grows taller. Do this gradually, never removing more than 40 percent of the total height of the plant in one year. Leave the side branches that emerge at 45-48 inches. They can always be removed later. You don’t want to prune the plant too far up its trunks.

It is almost impossible to reshape and retrain a topped crape myrtle in a way that will conceal the scars of prior toppings. If the goal is to get a handsome plant back, cut it completely to the ground and then retrain the new shoots that are produced, using the guidelines above. It may take a couple of years, but a beautiful crape myrtle will result! Gardening is so exciting!

Can a crepe myrtle that freezes to the ground be saved? Some varieties have notably poor records of surviving early or extreme freezes. Others will also freeze partially or completely on occasion. When that happens, cut the frozen trunks completely to the ground and proceed as outlined above.

There is an exception to pruning dwarf types. Dwarf crepe myrtles (those that stay at 4-5 ft. at maturity) can appear lanky if left unpruned. Treat them almost as a shrubby perennial, such as Salvia greggii, by pruning their tops back by half in mid-winter. That pruning will keep them bushy and compact. It will also stimulate a fresh flush of regrowth for blooms the following summer.

Propagation is an amazingly easy process! Unless you are interested in hybridizing crape myrtles as you seek new colors or features, you will be starting new plants primarily from cuttings. That consists of taking a stem section from the mother plant and causing it to develop roots of its own so that it can be a freestanding plant of the same genetic make-up (variety). That will be next week’s topic: Propagating Crepe Myrtles.

“My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece.” — Claude Monet