If you close your eyes and think of a southern summer garden, the first picture can be an old living oak with low, curved branches, but the second picture are puffs of sunset sky colored crepe Myrtle Blooms that fill the trees. My crepe myrten trees are an estimated part of my garden for their flowers, autumn color and bark that give the winter interest. Fortunately, I never committed “crepe murder”, so my trees kept their beautiful shape. Let us talk about the best time to cut a crepe myrtle to keep it healthy, with flowers and keep it properly shaped.
Ideal circumcision time for crepe myrtles
It is important to know that Crepe Myrtles blooms on new growth. So it is not a good idea to crop in autumn or early winter if an unusually warm spell could stimulate new growth that is killed at falling temperatures. The cropping too early leaves the tree susceptible to winter damage. The ideal time to curl up a crepe myrten is February or March before the tree shows considerable new growth.
Cutting in early spring
Cutting before the spring equipment will stimulate new growth if the temperatures increase. Since I prefer to keep a natural shape with strong branches that my grandson can climb to sit in the clouds of bright flowers, I take an overview of the shape, remove all broken branches and wait until the leaves and flower cluster appear. I make a light cut instead of giving the trees a heavy surface, and my trees have never failed to show a colorful show of flowers.
Cutting after early spring
If you are busy and miss the best window to cut a crepe myrtle and have started new growth, you can still curtail the tree, but be prepared for a later heyday and fewer flowers. I recommend jumping over circumcision for a year and waiting until the next February, unless the tree takes over your house. My crepe myrtles are well established, so I go around everyone after it starts to see if I missed a dead wood and remove it at the end of March or early April.
Mature crepe myrtes usually produce large flower clusters that become seed pods after fading the flowers. It is unnecessary to remove the seed capsules if you cut them off shortly after the past of the flowers at the end of July, you can get a second round of Bloom in September!
General cut guidelines
Crepe myrtles are a low -maintenance plant that typically produces beautiful flowers with only light and circumcision. Cutting is only necessary to shape the tree and control its size if they are planted in a narrow room. If you chop off the top of the tree every year, no other flowers are generated. Instead, make somewhat light cut every year, while branches are not thicker than a pencil. Follow these steps to pruning to maintain a healthy tree.
- Use sharp tools (hand cutters, loads or cutting saws) to create clean, smooth cuts. Use alcohol to disinfect the blades to prevent the spread of bacterial diseases.
- Start on the bottom of the tree and reduce the number of trunks. A crepe myrtle is a multi -stage tree, but it shouldn't have more than three to five main trunks.
- Remove all the lower side branches by making cuts near the trunk to keep the tree shape. Clip cleaner or small sprouts that grow from the base of the tree. Remove branches that rub over and together on top of each other and have died.
- To control the height of the crepe Myrtle, cut back the highest and most spoken branches at the point where you connect to another branch. This method is referred to as reducing circumcision and is to be preferred because it preserves the shape of the tree.
Mutual concerns
Even light care systems can have some problems. Keep an eye on your crepe myrt so that you can go out all concerns.
- Bad blossom: The tree is not mature to bloom, it may not get enough sun, or it was cropped too late in spring.
- Stain or drop: leaves: Soot loyalty mold, mildew or a mushroom called Cercospora leaf stain can lead to the crepe Myrtle leaves look bad or fall. Even if these diseases make the leaves look bad, they kill the tree or do not prevent them from blooming. Use a recommended treatment and save all the fallen leaves, pack them up and dispose of it to prevent the spread of the disease.
- Dead or resting ?: If the crepes of all other leaves get out and yours, you can quickly find out whether you have a late rest variant or whether your tree is dead. Use a garden trowel to scratch the trunk near the floor line. When you see a hint of green, your tree lives and only slowly leaves out. No green, it's time to remove the tree.
Crepe Myrtles are amiable, forgiving trees that continue to offer beauty in your garden when you make a cut mistake. Even if you have cut a very ugly haircut at the wrong time or have given your crepe myrtle, you can fix the problem with enough time and patience.