Somehow, the belief that crape myrtles should be brutally pruned by cutting off their tops persists, even though it's inaccurate. Crape murder is a term that has been coined to describe this severe ...

Crape myrtle blooms on new growth, so the best time to cut back these trees is in late winter, before new growth has sprouted ...

Prune crape myrtles in late winter to encourage strong new growth and flower production. Avoid pruning in spring, summer, or fall to prevent cutting off new flowers and stressing the tree. Never top ...

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts. An artist friend of mine calls crape myrtles “living bouquets.” In the ...

NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - Despite being native to China and Korea, the Crape Myrtle is the official shrub of Texas. You can hardly walk down a street in this area without seeing one in someone's yard ...

Left, the winged seeds of crape myrtle; and right, an American goldfinch feeding on crape myrtle seed. (Image courtesy Gary Graves) Each year from summer into fall, ornamental crape myrtle trees in ...

This improperly pruned crape myrtle tree has undergone “crape murder,” which is when the entire crown of the crape myrtle tree is cut off. Courtesy of Leaf & Limb, a Raleigh-based tree care company ...

Q: I've had a couple of new crape myrtles die in soggy soil. That's despite improving the soil and raising the beds a little. When I dug them up, there was standing water around the roots. Is there ...

I usually wait until mid-January to write something on this topic but this week I saw my first severe pruning of a crape myrtle for this dormant season earlier this month. So, instead of visions of ...

A: You'll delay summer blooms if you prune after new growth has begun in spring. There's no set rule that we must prune crape myrtles. But, if it's desired or needed, the ideal pruning time is late ...