When To Prune Crape Myrtle: For Beautiful Flowers

Blooming Crape Myrtle Along a Walking Path

Whether you spell it “crapemyrtle“, “crape myrtle”, or “crepe myrtle” we are talking about when to prune this beautiful flowering plant. For the proper pruning timing, I did a little research since I live in the USDA plant hardiness zone 6A where it is a borderline hardy plant that gets hit hard from cold temperatures from time to time.

When to prune crape myrtle for beautiful flowers? For optimal flowers, you will want to prune your crape myrtle in the late winter, while it still doesn’t have leaves, just before the plant starts growing because it makes flower buds on new growth. If you are too late then you should wait until after they finish blooming.

For more exploration of pruning times with crape myrtle read on to see if this article can help you in your situation. Not everyone accomplishes their landscape pruning at the optimal times of the year for all the different plants. Find out about other pruning times for crape myrtle throughout the year.

What Month Do You Prune Crepe Myrtles?

This is really going to depend on your location. What plant zone you are in. If you are further south or closer to the equator you will have a very small window when you crepe myrtle is dormant.

As you move further north into plant zones 6, 7, or 8 you will have more months when then plant is dormant.

Instead of saying a specific month, use your judgment as to when the crepe myrtle is dormant. January through as late as April in the furthest north regions you should be safe to cut back stems. If you prune your crepe myrtle in February-March timeframe it should be in the optimal timeframe for most areas that crepe myrtle grow in.

Once you start seeing new growth, new leaves, or the buds swelling just before they start growing new growth, you should hold off until after they are finished flowering which can be up to 120 days depending on your climate and the variety of crepe myrtle.

If you prune crepe myrtle once they start growing for the season you are likely to cut off the part of the stems that will develop the flower buds for the season.

You will probably still see some flowers, but by pruning the new growth potential off you severely limit the flower show.

Should You Prune Crepe Myrtles Every Year?

For the most part you don’t need much in the way of pruning. You would want to make sure that any sucker or stems growing from the roots are cut off. And any damaged or disease branches should be removed as soon as you notice them.

Depending on the winters you have, you might need to prune the dead limbs which can be caused by low temperatures. For example in Missouri, you can grow crepe myrtle as a border-line hardy plant if it is somehow protected from the cold north winds.

But if we have an exceptionally cold winter there will be dead branches and sometimes even the whole tree. So we cut them off close to the ground or down to parts of the tree that are still green. Crepe myrtle will usually spout back up from the roots. If you just have to cut them back some frozen branches then they will start new growth from the live wood.

Where people run into trouble is planting a crepe myrtle variety that isn’t suited for the area. For example, if you plant the 30 foot tree variety under the eve of your house, you will have to prune every year to keep the crepe myrtle from rubbing against your house.

Once your crepe myrtle is established and you have the main stem or trunk structure set by pruning the bad trunks if it is a multi-trunk plant you should be set on the major pruning.

Then from year to year you might consider heading up the tree so that you can see the wonderful bark patterns.

Bottom line is when the plant is small you might have to prune them for the structure you are wanting, but once that is set crepe myrtle don’t take much pruning maintenance.

Can You Trim Crepe Myrtle in the Summer?

You can prune or trim crepe myrtle anytime in the summer. If it is still blooming you will be trimming off the blooms. You just have to decide what is more important, blooms or the shape.

You can also promote more blooms by deadheading or pruning the spent flower heads in the summer. The risk is that if winter comes early in the season, the new growth that is promoted might freeze back.

For hard pruning, it is best to wait until the plant is dormant which means winter or late winter.

Of course you should always prune any damaged, dead, or diseased limbs anytime you notice them even if it summer.

Can You Cut Back Crepe Myrtles in Fall?

It is not advised to cut back crepe myrtle in the fall because it promotes new growth which can easily freeze back especially if you have an early winter cold snap.

If there is damaged branches you should cut them off as you notice them. It is harder for the plant to heal from a dead or damage branch then if there is a clean crisp pruning cut.

Just save the major pruning for a few more months when the crepe myrtle is completely dormant.

When Is It Too Late To Prune Crape Myrtle?

Depending on your pruning goal, the time can vary.

If you are wanting to do hard pruning then it is too late once the crape myrtle starts to grow for the season. It is best to do hard pruning when it is completely dormant which is winter to late winter. Once you notice new growth such as leaves or buds swelling then it is a little late.

If you don’t care about the flowers for the season you can prune up until the early summer months. Pruning during this time will mean that you are removing the growth that has the flower buds.

If you just need to do some touch up trimming for shape you can prune up until mid summer. Past that point and you will run the risk of the plant producing new growth that might freeze back depending on how early and severe the winter cold is in your region.

Do Crepe Myrtle Only Bloom on New Growth?

From my limited experience, crepe myrtle bloom off the new growth of the season.

There was a few entries online that claim to have blooms off of old growth, but that has not been my experience in zone 6 which is pretty for north for this plant.

Why Is My Crepe Myrtle Not Blooming?

The number one reason someone’s crepe myrtle is not blooming is because you have cut off all the new growth while pruning to late in the spring which would have produced the flowers.

Maybe your crepe myrtle is in too much shade. They need plenty of sunlight to produce flowers.

Maybe you have a powdery mildew which is a fungus that can grow on the leaves and flower buds.

The season could simply be too hot and dry. Crepe myrtle while go semi-dormant if the weather isn’t being very nice. But if you neighbor’s crepe myrtle are blooming it is usually not because of the weather.

It can also be caused by too much nitrogen which promotes foliage growth and not flowers. If you have lawn care trying to improve the lawn the nitrogen rich fertilzer could be effecting the balance of the crepe myrtle.

There can also be a number of other reasons such as; poor drainage, planted too low, too cool, overgrown roots if in a container, etc…

Should I Deadhead My Crepe Myrtle?

Deadheading any flowering plant can help it produce a new flower set. Crepe myrtle is no different. If you take the time and are able to reach spent blooms it will make the plant look better and you could potentially get another set of flowers for the season.