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July 2008
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I about had a heart attack one fine fall day as I was walking with my family around my neighborhood. I was chatting idly, when suddenly I looked up and saw three of my absolutely favorite trees had been BUTCHERED. Yes... butchered. Three magnificently tall crape myrtles with gorgeous trunks and beautiful stark bark had been hacked to half their size. From across the street, I could see the the residents had been trying to do one of two things... make the trees short enough to not touch the power/phone/cable lines going to their home OR follow the very bad old wives' tale. And that's just what it is... an old wives' tale, perpetuated by tree trimmers, landscapers and neighbors who just don't know any better.
Folks, please stop the insanity. Hacking crape myrtles does not increase flower production. It only distresses the tree and creates an unsightly bottle-brush look. And it freaks me out... all those sticks poking out of the ground, pretending to be trees. I always walk or drive by wondering why anyone would think that kind of tree pruning looks beautiful. Enough of the soap box... The simple fact is that crape myrtles should not be trimmed in winter. These natives of China are designed to reach high toward the shy, and those seed pods they get in the winter provide a beautiful texture in the garden. If you must prune, you should only remove damaged, broken or diseased limbs or any others causing a specific problem. I'm collecting photos of poorly pruned or weird trees... send me your photos at cbrummer@kvue.com! 1 CommentsLeave a comment |
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Reminds me of the time I came home from work and my best tree in the front yard was butcher by the power company because they said that it was in the way of the lines.