When Is the Best Time of Year to Prune or Trim Crape Myrtle?

Time Frame

• Schedule pruning or trimming of a crape myrtle tree for late winter or early spring. You want to complete any structural pruning to shape the tree or remove broken or dead branches before the tree leaves winter dormancy and begins to show leaves and elongate new twigs. Avoid pruning too early in the latter half of winter when hard freezes still occur. However, once the coldest part of winter is over, it's generally safe to begin pruning maintenance tasks. The bare branches in late winter or early spring allows you to see the form and bark for examination.

Regional Considerations

• Typically, crape myrtle trees are grown in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 7 through 10. The ideal timing of pruning occurs earlier the farther south. Based on when new leaves begin to unfurl from buds on crape myrtles, complete pruning tasks in Southern Florida no later than March 1. Across the Deep South, finish up before mid-March and in the colder winter areas of USDA zone 7, do so by April 1.

Other Seasonal Pruning Periods

• Dead or broken branches may be removed any time of year. Likewise, any annoying suckers -- the leggy, wiry sprouts that pop up from tree trunk bases or surface roots -- may be trimmed off any time of year. After the main flowering display ends in middle to late summer, you may choose to trim off the seed heads to tidy the tree's appearance. Only trim the seed heads that you can safely reach from the ground or sturdy ladder. It's not vital to remove them as the tree will still grow and flower in subsequent years without this tedious maintenance. Branches that hang low and pose a safety hazard also may be trimmed any time of year to correct the concern.

Pruning Insight

• Crape myrtle trees pruned when young to establish a well-balanced, open branching structure need less pruning later in life. Use sharp hand pruners for any branch smaller than 1/2 inch in diameter. Once branches approach 3/4 to 1 inch thick, loppers make better cuts with less effort and risk of tearing or ripping bark. To maintain the natural silhouette of crape myrtle trees, conduct trimming back of branch tips only as far as the branches do not become larger than the thickness of a pencil. Arbitrarily hacking back into wood leads to water sprout regrowth and loss of the crape myrtle's natural, picturesque branching silhouette.