I don't know much about Crepe Myrtles. We have 2. I think they're tree type with Indian names but I don't remember which names, pink and lavendar. My mother, age 98, loves Crepe Myrtle. These bloom at the top of the tree but not lower where we can cut them to take to her. We need a ladder to get to the blooms. Is there any way to get them to bloom all over the tree, not just at the top?
Marge
Crepe Myrtle question
Marge,
These bloom on new growth, so any branch that is new this season will produce blooms.
Next winter, consider pruning the tree in such a manner as to encourage new growth on the bottom, as well as the top, of the tree.
P.S. Welcome to DG. :-)
Dave
Thanks for the warm welcome.
Should I just pinch the ends of the bottom branches back to growth nodes? or should I prune back a little farther? I gather it's done in the winter before growth starts in the spring?
Marge
Marge,
The best time to prune (in my opinion) is January. My frosts occur between October 31st and April 31st.
Use those nice bypass snippers that you can buy at Home Depot or Lowes (or such) and just trim away. Be gentle and cut off those little stems, leaving the bare pencil-sized and thicker stems alone. Then when the new growth comes in, leave it alone and see what happens. On each new branch that forms, you should see a cluster of flowers appear at the tip.
Dave
Thank you very much! We'll try this. If I have problems, you may hear from me about it again in Jan. :-)
Marge
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