crepe myrtle blooms

[Joe Dupre']

I collected this crepe myrtle from my sisters unkempt flower bed this spring. Picture is from a month ago. I've pruned back 4 or 5 flushes of new growth and have some secondary branches coming along. What do I need to do next spring and summer to get some flowering, or would that be too early?

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

Crape myrtles bloom on this year's growth. If you want blooms, stop pruning it.

 

[cbroad]

It depends on how much you've cut back this year and how much you'll cut back next year. If you keep hard pruning it throughout the year, it probably won't ever bloom. I've had some 3 gallon ones bloom but never much because the branches have been immature. I also think as yours is this small a lot of blooms would be too much for the plant (as far as aesthetics, but you may not care about that and I get that too).

I'd say you'll have to lay off the pruning so much and maybe fertilize with higher Phosphorus to get more blooms next year.

Good luck!

 

[cbroad]

I'd also say you could prune a few different multiple spring flushes but let the growth rest after late spring. Your crapes probably wake up pretty early down there so you could probably have a few successive flushes before you'd have to leave them be. This is assuming it's healthy and pretty vigorous.

 

[Joe Dupre']

I'll probably forego the blooming for a couple of years on this one. I have another smaller one that I'll let grow wild next year.

thanks