By Amy-Lynn Albertson N.C. Cooperative Extension Picture this: a once-graceful crape myrtle, reduced to sad, bare stumps each winter — a practice known as “crape murder.” Many believe this drastic […] ...

Prune crape myrtles in late winter to encourage strong new growth and flower production. Avoid pruning in spring, summer, or fall to prevent cutting off new flowers and stressing the tree. Never top ...

This improperly pruned crape myrtle tree has undergone “crape murder,” which is when the entire crown of the crape myrtle tree is cut off. Courtesy of Leaf & Limb, a Raleigh-based tree care company ...

I enjoy living n a heavily wooded area; that's why I oppose over-pruning of any tree. Sure, we do need to prune trees if they are in a urban setting and they are a danger to power lines, but we have a ...

Not long ago, I received the following email: “I have two crape myrtle trees in my front yard, one about 25 years old and one about 10 years old. They are in full sun. They usually bloom later than ...

Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. FILE - Crape myrtle bark scale and sooty mold on topped plant. When I get multiple calls on a pest in a small time period, there ...

The crape myrtle has become the standard of medium-size trees to plant in the Louisiana landscape. Crape myrtles are easy to produce, easy to grow and very inexpensive to purchase. But sometimes we ...