How to Prune Crape Myrtles Without Crape Murder

More on crape myrtles

• Crape myrtle planting zones — every type, the zones it suits, and when the last spring freeze lands in each zone
• How to Prune Crape Myrtles Without Crape Murder — this page
• ZIP code zone finder — your exact USDA zone, to read the tables on these pages against

When to prune

Dustin Blakey of UC Cooperative Extension in Inyo and Mono Counties adds, from experience rather than data, that fall-pruned crape myrtles seem more likely to suffer winter damage in extreme years, and that it probably makes no difference in mild climates.

The cuts a crape myrtle needs

How to make the cuts, step by step

1. Have a reason. UC Cooperative Extension in Inyo and Mono Counties: it is fine to prune, but try to have a real reason.
2. Use thinning cuts. University of Minnesota Extension says thinning cuts remove a whole branch at the branch collar and are usually the recommended cut; heading cuts remove only part of a branch and push growth below the cut.
3. Cut just outside the branch collar, and leave no stub. Minnesota says the collar is the stem tissue around the base of a branch; left intact, the wound seals more effectively.

4. Take big limbs in three cuts. Minnesota: undercut about 18 inches out, one-third to one-half through; cut through an inch further out so the limb drops without tearing bark; then make the final cut at the collar.

5. Skip the wound paint. Minnesota says wound dressing is not normally needed on pruning cuts.
6. Remove what rubs. Minnesota says remove branches that rub together, and vigorous vertical shoots called water sprouts.

Why topping is the mistake

• UF/IFAS: topping can damage and disfigure the tree.
• UC Cooperative Extension in Inyo and Mono Counties: topping opens a large wound and forces the plant to spend energy on weakly attached new branches. Where crape myrtles are marginally hardy, the early new growth on topped limbs dies back in freezes, leaving a stub with odd branches growing about a foot from the cut.
• UC Cooperative Extension in San Bernardino County, on trees in general: topping leaves trees unstable, unsafe and unattractive, and the weak, poor-quality growth that follows makes injury and damage more likely than with properly pruned trees.
• University of Minnesota Extension: removing large branches leaves stubs that cause health problems, destroys the plant’s natural shape, and promotes suckering and weak branch structure.

And it is never needed for height. UC Cooperative Extension in Inyo and Mono Counties: you can pick any height and find a crape myrtle that gets that tall, so height control is no excuse.

If your crape myrtle has already been topped

⚠️ None of the sources we could read gives a step-by-step recovery plan for a topped crape myrtle. What they do say, for trees in general:

• UC Cooperative Extension in San Bernardino County: proper pruning often means selecting a central leader and removing competing leaders, crossed branches, water sprouts, suckers and deadwood, keeping the weight balanced through the tree. It suggests a Certified Arborist where you are unsure.
• University of Minnesota Extension: remove vigorous vertical water sprouts, and make cuts at the branch collar without leaving stubs.
• UC Cooperative Extension in Inyo and Mono Counties: if a big limb dies over winter, remove the whole limb, and a new shoot will replace it in late spring.

If it was topped because it had outgrown its spot, it will outgrow it again. UF/IFAS says a crape myrtle that needs routine pruning to fit its space should be replaced with a smaller cultivar.

Choosing a smaller cultivar instead

UF/IFAS says a crape myrtle planted in full sun away from walkways needs little or no pruning. The crape myrtle zones page covers which types suit which zones.

Common mistakes

• Topping. UF/IFAS says it can damage and disfigure the tree.
• Pruning every year to keep it small. UF/IFAS says replace it with a smaller cultivar.
• Heading cuts everywhere. Minnesota says thinning cuts at the branch collar are usually the right cut.
• Leaving stubs. Minnesota says cut just outside the branch collar.
• Pruning with no reason. UC Inyo says crape myrtles mostly need none.
• Painting the cuts. Minnesota says wound dressing is not normally needed.

Every pruning guide

• When to Prune by Zone: Late Winter or After Flowering
• When and How to Prune Roses by Zone
• Pruning Fruit Trees in Late Winter: Apple, Pear, Peach
• How to Prune Flowering Shrubs: Spring vs Summer Bloomers
• What Not to Prune in Fall, and the Cuts That Are Fine
• How to Prune Evergreen Shrubs and Hedges
• How to Prune Hydrangeas by Type: Old Wood vs New Wood
• Hydrangea Pruning Chart: When to Prune Each Type
• How to Prune Limelight Hydrangea and Vanilla Strawberry
• How to Prune Annabelle and Incrediball Hydrangeas
• How to Prune Endless Summer Hydrangeas (Rebloomers)
• How to Prune Oakleaf Hydrangea: After It Flowers
• Hydrangea Tree Care and Pruning (Tree-Form Panicle)
• How to Prune Crape Myrtles Without Crape Murder — this page
• Your USDA hardiness zone by ZIP code

In the South

Clemson, writing for South Carolina, lists crape myrtle with the plants to prune before spring growth begins, because it flowers on the current season’s growth, and names it among the shrubs often trained as tree forms, a job it starts in late winter. UF/IFAS calls crape myrtle a dominant landscape plant in North and Central Florida and throughout the South, and its pruning guidance is the Florida source here. We found no Texas source on pruning crape myrtles, so Texas advice on this page is limited; ask your county AgriLife Extension office. Penn State notes that crapemyrtle bark scale was first found in Richardson, Texas, and that in colder areas, where crape myrtles are cut back to the roots, pruning out infested wood may be enough to eliminate it.