Pruning Crapemyrtles

The most important thing to remember about pruning crapemyrtle is that most crapemyrtles are small trees. As such, they should be pruned as trees. If you want a flowering shrub, buy something other that a crapemyrtle or buy a crapemyrtle that matures into a small plant. If you have questions about smaller crapemyrtles, please email Randall and I will be glad to give you advice on the best varieties to use. If we do not have the one you need, I can either get it for you from another nursery or put you in touch with someone who does grow it. Nothing takes the joy out of gardening like trying to force a plant to be something that is not natural for the plant, and pruning tree form crapemyrtles into shrubs is an unending task that I call CRAPE MURDER! Don’t do it. You now know better.

The steps in pruning are really very simple. One little bit of knowledge that I learned a long time ago from my horticulture professor at The University of Georgia, while working on a degree in Landscape Architecture, is of tremendous value in understanding the pruning process. Keeping this tip in mind while pruning has always helped me to do a better job of pruning and letting the plant work for me rather than against me.

Every terminal bud (the bud at the tip of the limb or stem) on a plant produces a growth retardant called auxin. This auxin travels back down the stem and retards the growth of each axillary bud along the stem. The axillary buds are the little dormant buds that you can see in the acute angle where each leaf is attached to the stem. These buds are also called lateral buds. The axillary buds will remain dormant as long as they continue to receive their steady dose of auxin. Occasionally one of these buds will break away and start growing, but not often. Now, if we remove the terminal bud from the stem, the production of auxin is stopped in that stem. Almost every dormant bud will begin to grow. The explanation as to why all of them do not become active is beyond the scope of this discussion. Let’s just assume that the first ones to become active begin to produce auxin thereby retarding the activation of some of the others. Many of you pinch the terminal buds of house plants to make them get fuller, but you never knew why. Maybe you didn’t even care, but now you know. Keep this in mind as you prune crape myrtles or any other plant. You can train plants to grow into the shape you want with very little effort if you remember this little tip.


When pruning crapemyrtles there are two basic forms that you are seeking to achieve. The most common form is the multi-trunk form. This is the form that most crapemyrtles will become if left alone. The second form is the single trunk or more commonly called ‘standard’. It is important to decide which form you are working toward when you first plant you crape myrtle. Begin immediately to work toward the desired form. By keeping the little tip that I gave in the text above in mind you can achieve the desired form with little work.

I consider that there are only four steps to pruning.

1. Remove dead wood. Cut the dead branches back to live wood. Make all you cuts carefully and just beyond a bud or another stem. Do not leave excess wood beyond the bud or stem because that wood will die and rot. This can cause desease in the plant.
2. Remove suckers. Suckers come up from the base of the plant. Simply cut the suckers as close to the ground as possible. Walter Reeves from the University of Georgia Ag Extension Service recently told about a chemical that will stop suckers. I will get the name of the substance and make it available in our online garden shop. Any of you who are in the southeast and can get Walter on WSB AM radio from Atlanta on Saturday morning would do well to listen to him.
3. Remove crossing limbs. If two limbs are crossing you have to choose which one you are going to remove. Back up, look at the overall plant, and decide which one is needed least. Cut it back to a bud or stem that is pointed in the direction that you would like to see the growth going.
4. Remove growth that is causing the plant to not be the shape you want. This will include growth that is just getting started in the wrong place or the wrong direction.

Crapemyrtles do not bleed when pruned. Therefore, do not spray the ugly black stuff on the wounds. If you attend to the pruning as needed you will never have large wounds that could cause disease. After the leaves have fallen off in the fall is the best time to do any serious pruning that is needed by the crapemyrtle. Take another look at them in the spring before leaves put on to see if you missed anything. During the growing season, you will see suckers come up from the base. I remove those as soon as they get started. Also, small growth will start along the trunks that will not be wanted. You can easily remove this growth with your fingers. Just rub it off the limb.
The bark of the crapemyrtle exfoliates. This is normal. In fact, the exfoliating bark of the crapemyrtle is one of the beautiful traits for which the crapemyrtle is known. Let the plants exfoliate naturally. In the fall, you can clean up the excess bark that has fallen around the plant. Put that bark in your compost pile.

Good luck with your new crapemyrtles. If you have questions, just email Randall. Please visit Hoskins Garden Shop online where you can find more plants to beautify your landscape. The online store is a new venture for us. It is taking longer to get products online than I realized it would take. I do want to provide plenty of information for our customers and those just looking for information. Providing that information for each plant is taking time. Be patient with us. In a few months we should have everything out there and be providing every need for your garden.