So...I have a few ugly crepe myrtle "trees".

They were pruned by previous owner right at the roof line and they are basically pushing up on the gutters, roof, etc. They look bad.

I'd like to "prune" them down to where they "split" or at least a more reasonable length...but some of those points would be several inches thick. I expect the tree would die, but I have no idea. To be honest, I find this to be the dumbest thing to plant along your roofline in the world.

So...what are my options? If I chop it down the the "limbs" coming from the ground what's going to happen?

Will try to post a picture later.

Have lots of experience with these and best friend is an horticulturist...get me pics for advice.

DVM

can you shape it around the gutter? that would be best.

too many people cut them down too much (pallarding) .

You can prune it in a manner to keep the thing growing up past your roof line. If its pretty straight at least and keep pruning the problem branches to train it to stay tha way. Have a neighbor that has done that to several and they look really good. We have two that we have to prune away from the house a bit. You wont kill it but done wrong you can deform it and make it look terrible.

Poor daisy, she just wants some love.

Crepes are the most mis-pruned tree or shrub out there. You should never trim anything on a crepe bigger than a pencil (unless it is a crossing branch or dead wood) You can get crepes that grow anywhere from 12" to 40' tall... plant the variety that gets the size you need & then you don't have to worry about trimming.

That said, you were dealt a bad hand by the previous owner. If possible, you could transplant the trees and move them several feet farther from the house. Crepes are tough as nails & it's still ok to move them. If you hack them back, they'll live but look like hell.

I had the same problem with three of these suckers in the backyard. I pruned two of them to the first split - about 4 feet tall - and the tree is probably 3.5 inches thick there. The other one I am going to trim to the secondary splits around 6 ft tall.

I probably shoulda asked around before cutting those back so far. I've heard that they will come back from almost anything here in Houston. We'll see.

You can always cut it back to ground level. It will put out new shoots, and you can train it from there.

That would be crepe murder.

It goes another couple few feet up. I'd like to cut them where the other shrubs are (where they split)...what does everyone think? Tips for cutting them down that far?

I have to be honest, for the above poster that suggested a horticulturist...I'd rather tear them out and put in new bushes for the cost of that visit and subsequent maintenance by myself.

I'd just remove them completely and put a little diesel on the stump if it was me.

Being that close to your house, you're going to have constant issues with them. Even if you cut them off, the shoots will still grow up over your gutter line every year.

If you decide to cut them back, don't worry about killing them. They're like zombie shrubs and will survive a nuclear holocaust.

Someone ruined what could have been some nice trees.

I agree with the above post, remove and start over further out from your house.

Interesting thread.

I am not sure how much of what is being stated here is fact or fiction.

I have 16 crepe myrtles around my home and pool. Most of them are at least 10' tall, some even taller. I prune mine every year with my chainsaw. I cut them way back and they will grow another 6' during the growing season. The next year I cut all of the new growth off and they come right back again. I have not had a single one die and I have been doing this for 12 years. We really enjoy them and they are beautiful trees. The problem is that I do not want them to get any bigger than they already are. They grow like weeds and are extremely tough to kill.

What I am doing is probably not the correct way to do it but it works for me.

ghollow

Your method is the same as mine. Mine grow to 12-15 fee high each year and I just got finished two weeks ago trimming them back to around 7 feet.

By July, they will be back over 12 feet.

Pruned, they put out more blooms. Left unpruned, the blooms are larger but less.

I have 6 crepe myrtles in my yard that are 7 years old and 15 foot high. I only prune them when I have branches that touch or that get too thick or too wild looking. I always have had so many white blooms that when the wind blows it looks like it is snowing in July. I just love it

ghollow and doc, that's called crepe murder. They're your trees not mine, but I personally hate the look of crepes that are trimmed like that. Truthfully, it's not good for the trees. To the OP, talk to an arborists (or see if DVM buddy can advise you). Proper pruning of those trees does require thoughtful planning and selection of what to cut, where to cut and how you want your tree to grow.

How NOT to prune a CM

Bottlerocket,

I don't prune back as far as you are showing in your photo, however, you can call it murder, I call it pruning to protect my gutters and roof.

Just prune the tree away from your roof line and gutter.

What alot of people don't understand is that the tree will grow back to the "same size". If its a 15' tree and you prune it back to 7' that summer it will grow back to 15'. If you leave it alone it will stay at 15'.

Like Apache said, if it bigger than a pencil or little finger its to big. I like to thin all the new shoots out, but my trees have all stayed about the same size.

There is actually 3 size variety in Crepe Mrytles. a small bush like size that may get to around 6-7 feet. the medium, which most of us have gets to around 15' maybe alittle more. And the tree variety that get to about 25'. A mature tree will grow back to the same size it was, that summer.

so just shape it and save all the work.

[This message has been edited by Kjodie (edited 3/19/2010 10:10a).]

"Crepe Murder"
I like that.

Bottlerocket, I actually prune mine back even more than what your show in your picture. They do look similiar to your second picture during the winter. Once they start to grow again, all of the cuts, etc. are hidden by the leaves and blooms. My trees are much, much larger than anything shown so far. I will try to get some pictures posted after I get home this evening. I really do not have any problems with most of them so far as getting into my gutters. My main reason for trimming them is so that they do not get any bigger.

As I stated earlier, I have been doing it this way for 12 years and have not had a single one die. If anything, they appear to get healthier as the years go by. In all honesty, It would not hurt my feelings if a couple of them bit the dust. I have so much landscaping to take care of around my home. We would not even notice a couple less crepe myrtles.

CM's that are allowed to grow into full size make really pretty trees.

I'd get on those branches close to the gutter with a chain saw.

When I prune, I take out the little branches upto about 4.5 feet. I would never top a cm.

Those of you proposing I not "chop it down" are you saying I cut off the entire branches that lead up to top of the gutters/underside of roof and leave the ones that grew "out" from the side of the house? Still seems weird to have a tree above your roofline.

this: You can always cut it back to ground level. It will put out new shoots, and you can train it from there.

Thank you, Deathstar. Seems the simplest and best answer if often the most ignored.