Anytime I pass by mine (which is a lot, it's on the way to the back fence), I find myself pulling off the sprouts, so I know what you mean.

I don't know of any solution other than to ignore them, but then it gets all raggedy looking and I can't stand that.

gptx gardener,

I just had an e-mail from Jerry Parsons, who recommends your method of "grab and rip" to get rid of sprouts. He says that may discourage new growth, at least at that spot. Also, he advises any pruning should be back to the biggest limb or the trunk. I agree, a raggedy crepe myrtle is not a lovely plant. So, here's to crepe myrtle abuse!

I have the same problem with one of my crape myrtles. I think some cultivars are more prone to doing that, especially the ones that really want to be a bush instead of a tree. Seems the more I rip and prune off the sprouts coming out of the ground by the trunk, the denser they return. I'm tempted to remove it, but it's got the prettiest color and form, except for that nasty habit. And it's really going great guns this year with all the rain.

debndal,

We have found that a specific application of Round-Up takes care of the sprouts coming out of the ground around the trunk--but our Crepes are big enough (4" diameter trunks) to withstand the use of a mild herbicide. It's the ones coming out all over, from the trunk and the limbs both, that are driving us nuts! If the crepe myrtle trees weren't so large, and so well placed, we, like you, would be tempted to cut them down, and then we would have lots of small sprouts to deal with for the rest of our lives!

I've also found that as mine gets bigger, the ground sprouts seem to have slowed down. Now I just mainly get them at lower spots on the trunks where we have pruned it.

It's HUGE, it towers over our house and finally is completely in bloom (I think it finally got enough sun, what with this soggy weather we've been having.) It's a pink one and looks so good now.

There are a bunch of shaggy crepes in my neighborhood, though. People either don't seem to know or care enough to shape them up. I'm not talking about the hard-core butchering some people do (topping them off) but just shaping and pruning. They're so raggedy!

I planted a wee one in the backyard about a month ago and it seems a bit waterlogged, poor thing.

I have 2 pink ones (not identical)that sprout around the bottom of the trunk all the time, and it is a huge hastle to deal with. They also bloom very late - I see crepe myrtles blooming everywhere, but these two show no signs yet. My new white Natchez is in full bloom and very pretty.

Carol

Carol,

One of our crepes is pink, and it sprouts both from the ground level and from pruning cuts. It bloomed later than the white, but that may be because of position in the yard. We have no idea what cultivar the white one is, and it sprouts basically from pruning cuts and not from ground level. I am beginning to wonder why anyone plants crepes. . . .
Hope your Natchez is one of the non-sprouting types!