How to prune a too tall crape myrtle?

11 years ago

I recently bought an old house with a potentially great yard that has been neglected for years. In my front yard, right near the street is a c.m. that is over 20 feet tall & needs to be shortened, one primary reason is that the branches are starting to mingle with the power lines & the city will come lop it off sooner or later (I understand from a neighbor that this is what's happened in the past with other trees on the property).

I have attached a picture to show, but there's no easy way to bring it down shorter & I don't want to be accused of murder! The area that I've circled is at about the 7-8' mark, where I had made some cuts on branches that were only an inch or two in diameter. I'm nervous about making any more cuts, but have to.

Any advice (other than don't cut it!) would be welcome, I need to get this done asap.

Thanks!

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Comments (4)

frankielynnsie
11 years ago
You can cut it back at the 7 ft size and it will put up new growth and the branching will be lower than it is right now. It will put up lots of new branching and if you remove most of those when they are young and just have 2 or 3 branches you can let those grow and prune them back and selectively keep a few of those branches. That way it is branching and not like an arm with the fingers cut off. If you google "how to prune over grown crepe myrtle" you will get lots of help. Most suggest doing it over several years. Some suggest cutting it back to the ground and letting it start over.
jenarnow thanked frankielynnsie
planterjeff
11 years ago
Sometimes Crape Murder is the only way to go. :(
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killerv
11 years ago
looking at how leggy and leaning it is, it appears to have been planted in a bad spot, not enough sun. I'd consider removing it all together. I'd do that before I did the good old apartment chop on it. can't stand to see a crepe myrtle pruned wrong.
killerv
11 years ago
last modified: 11 years ago
you can however cut it all the way to the ground, put the tallest tomato cage you can find around the stump and let it send up new shooters, the cage will help them from falling over. Pinch off the flowers this first year because if not, they'll just flop the thin new trunks over. After the first year, select 3 or 5 of the strongest shoots or whichever ones will give you the shape you are shooting for and remove the cage and prune away the rest of the shoots. Hope for the best.