# Recovering From Crape Murder



## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Can these Crape Murders be salvaged? I was thinking of cutting at an angle just below each ball. I have heard a few seasons of proper pruning can restore them to a decent appearance.

If anybody wants to save the image and draw on it that's helpful too - might be somebody else down the road who will find it useful.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

I feel like @Ecks from Tex will have some good input


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## Ortho-Doc (Feb 3, 2019)

It will take time for this to recover. You have to let it grow out over the next few seasons and then select the strongest looking branches for shape and cut the others away. If you trim it even lower that's counterproductive and you'll end up chasing your tail. Give it time and it'll repair itself.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Ortho-Doc said:


> It will take time for this to recover. You have to let it grow out over the next few seasons and then select the strongest looking branches for shape and cut the others away. If you trim it even lower that's counterproductive and you'll end up chasing your tail. Give it time and it'll repair itself.


Should I take out any of the "sprigs" and leave some, or just leave it completely untouched?


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## Ecks from Tex (Apr 26, 2018)

SCGrassMan said:


> I feel like Ecks from Tex will have some good input


That's tough man.

*Can it be salvaged? * Depends on what you mean by "salvage." You will never really get those knots out. It will take many years for the plant to return to form. Don't cut the knots out and hope to grow anew. That's a last resort, because it's not very good for the tree overall.

Another question I would want to know is which specific type of crape myrtle. Some varieties grow much taller and faster, while others are intended to be much closer to a shrub. If you have the latter, it would be much more difficult to return it to intended form.

*How to salvage it if you go that route? *Like others have said, trim limbs in the month following the blooming season heavily to establish 1-2 main "trunks" coming off the knots where the murder occurred. Then, apply "sucker" growth regulator to the trimmed areas to discourage new sprouts, and let the main trucks just continue to establish for at least 2-3 years. You'll just have to babysit the tree for a long time but it will eventually form as intended, although I suspect there will be an unsightly knot for several years after until the trunk swallows it entirely.

*What would I do?* If it were me, i'd plant a new one. Or hell, plant something that isn't such a pain. I have 4 crepe myrtles, all of which are giant trees, but they are the worst during prime lawn growing season.


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Yeah there's like 4 of these all in a row. I'm kind of with you - I think a new tree 4 years from now will look better than this one does 4 years from now.


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