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Hot take: most folks are pruning their crepe myrtles way too early in spring
I used to do the same thing until a guy named Ray who runs a small tree care outfit out of Raleigh set me straight about 3 years ago. He asked me when I cut mine back and I said March, and he just shook his head and said wait until you see the new growth pushing out, usually late April or even early May around here. The reason is those late frosts we get can kill off the fresh cuts and stress the tree right when it's trying to wake up. I have been waiting since then and the difference in bloom is not even close. Last year my two trees out front threw out way more flowers than the neighbor's did, and his are older than mine. Ray also said never cut into the thick old wood, just take the thin stuff back to a fork. So what are you all doing, are you cutting early or waiting for the buds to break? I want to hear from folks in colder zones than mine, because I bet the timing shifts a lot.
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joseph_green138d ago
Appreciate the detail about cutting back to a fork, that part gets skipped by a lot of folks. Curious what Ray told you about trees that are already way overgrown from years of hard chopping, do you still just take the thin stuff or does that thick wood need to come out slow over a few seasons? Also wondering what your cue is exactly, like are you watching for the buds to actually swell or waiting on a certain soil temp? Down here in 7b we can get a random freeze clear into mid April so I am always second guessing myself.
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