By Katie Wiswall, ISA TRAQ & Certified Arborist, Urban & Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator, Alabama Forestry Commission
Crape murder is not a thing. Murder results in death, but even the most severe pruning rarely kills a crape myrtle. If cutting the heads off crape myrtles killed them, people would quit doing it. So – it’s not murder. But you still shouldn’t do it!
Topping
What is often referred to as crape murder is topping. Any sort of cutting that removes the ends of all the branches on your crape myrtle is topping. It doesn’t matter if you “artistically” stagger the cuts near the top of the stems or whack your poor tree back to some ugly, knobby knuckles a few feet off the ground; it is all topping and it is bad for your crape myrtle.
Why do people do it? Either they have been misinformed about why they should, or they forgot their mamma’s warning not to jump off that bridge just because their friends are!
Perhaps I can help combat misinformation.
You are not “re-invigorating” your tree by removing the ends of all the limbs. You are retarding it and changing its hormone balance. The tips of branches hold and produce plant growth hormones that control the rate and location of growth in the tree. When you remove the branch tips, previously-suppressed buds hidden along the trunks “wake up” and start growing. There are lots of these buds, so you get lots of sprouts that grow quickly, are weakly attached to the stem of the tree, and consume stored resources to replace the leaves needed to keep the tree alive. This whole process is sort of like quitting your job as a baker and then spending your savings to buy bread.
You are not increasing flowering. Removing all the ends of your crape myrtle’s branches DELAYS flowering by 4-8 weeks, effectively shortening the time you get to enjoy those beautiful blooms. While the flowers that finally appear may be in larger clusters, they are being produced on spindly, weakly-attached sprouts that often cannot support them.
You do open your crape myrtle up to long-term damage from water, insects, and diseases. Cutting the limbs off at a slant may help slow water damage but it does nothing to help the tree seal the wound and prevent fungal or insect infestations. With any tree, the only safe place to cut off part of its living tissue is at a junction, either with another branch or with the trunk. In these junctions there are specialized cells that can produce material to seal the area and protect the interior of the tree from pests and rot.
You do promote wind damage and powdery mildew in those weakly attached and very crowded sprouts.
Pruning
Is there ever a reason to prune your crape myrtle and is there a correct way to do it? Of course! Prune your crape like you would any other tree – with a specific goal in mind and by using proper techniques.
And if you are topping that crape myrtle because it is growing into your house, it is time to move or remove it.
Thinning cuts. Pruning a branch back to its original growth point reduces the amount of regrowth after pruning.
The May Rule. If the plant blooms after May 1, prune during the dormant season, before new spring growth, because the flowers are produced on the current year’s growth. These include crape myrtles and gardenias.
Remove dead, diseased, or injured branches at any time.
Dip pruning shears and saws in disinfectant to prevent spreading diseases among plants. Your solution should be one-part alcohol to nine parts water. Always oil pruners after using a disinfectant.
Remove branches that cross each other, touch each other, or look out of place.
Remove shrubs when they are too large for their location. Pruning for size is a constant battle.
Avoid pruning in times of stress. Pruning is itself stressful on a plant. Never prune in periods of drought or extreme heat.
Call professionals to prune trees more than 15 feet high.
Topping
Tree Talk: It’s not murder – but that doesn’t make it right
By Katie Wiswall, ISA TRAQ & Certified Arborist, Urban & Community Forestry Partnership Coordinator, Alabama Forestry Commission
Crape murder is not a thing. Murder results in death, but even the most severe pruning rarely kills a crape myrtle. If cutting the heads off crape myrtles killed them, people would quit doing it. So – it’s not murder. But you still shouldn’t do it!
Topping
What is often referred to as crape murder is topping. Any sort of cutting that removes the ends of all the branches on your crape myrtle is topping. It doesn’t matter if you “artistically” stagger the cuts near the top of the stems or whack your poor tree back to some ugly, knobby knuckles a few feet off the ground; it is all topping and it is bad for your crape myrtle.
Why do people do it? Either they have been misinformed about why they should, or they forgot their mamma’s warning not to jump off that bridge just because their friends are!
Perhaps I can help combat misinformation.
Pruning
Is there ever a reason to prune your crape myrtle and is there a correct way to do it? Of course! Prune your crape like you would any other tree – with a specific goal in mind and by using proper techniques.
And if you are topping that crape myrtle because it is growing into your house, it is time to move or remove it.
Here are some tips from the Alabama Cooperative Extension System blog (https://www.aces.edu/blog/topics/landscaping/care-and-maintenance-smart-yards-recipe-series/):