Introduction
Lagerstroemia indica (Crepe Myrtle) are one of the common ornamental trees that thrive here in the land of the pines. They have a very unique bark pattern, and flower in many colors including red, white, purple, and pink. You will find them as single or multi-stemmed trees, and sometimes they are maintained as more of a shrub. The training process of young Crape myrtles will dictate how they look when they mature.
In time, you will hear someone refer to their arborist or landscaper committing “Crape-murder” to their trees. This usually refers to the pollarding that is common here in Moore county. This is normally accomplished in late winter by giving the trees a “flat top” or “umbrella” shaped cut, just above the “knuckles” where the tree was cut in previous seasons. This helps to control the height of the trees when done consistently and gives them a well-manicured look going into spring.
Pollarding is most effective when the cuts are done with sharp tools approximately 1/2”-3/4” from the main stem. It should not be attempted with all trees, but crape myrtles handle it well. One common regret individuals have in making pollard cuts are when the original cut is made too low to the ground, and the visual clearance is not above eye level. To remedy this, we recommend letting the new leads grow up for a season or two, then developing a new pollard at the desired height and maintaining that.
Mistakes
One common mistake individuals make is cutting the pollard off completely. The pollard, or knuckle can look unsightly up close, but most people won’t notice and it is important to keep it. Removing the pollard will most likely cause die-off of that limb which is both unsightly and unhealthy for the tree. The pollards help to protect the stems by keeping decay from entering and they also store up a lot of energy to be used in pushing out the spring growth.
If height is not a concern, letting a Crape myrtle “reach for the sky” is a wonderful method, as it requires minimal to no effort, and a big mature Crape myrtle is a beautiful tree! If you do choose to follow the established tradition here in the Sandhills and “Crape-murder” your trees, you’ll be in good company. If you choose not to, you’ll also be in good company!
Wrapping Up
Our final suggestion is this. Once you choose to prune using this method, it is easiest to snap off the new growth “volunteers” that sprout out around your pollard cuts by hand, especially if done within the first few weeks after they emerge. If you allow them to get established, you will need to cut them off with a tool. We hope you find this informative and encourage you to reach out to us if you have pruning questions on any of your trees. We have multiple ISA Certified Arborist© on staff who can be available to inform and help educate you on anything tree related.
