saw this on the news... Prob. for me lies with not whether you like, or dislike the myrtle "stumped" for the winter, which for some reason or another is becoming some sort of new "controversy" !!! but, the fact that they are getting in trouble for it, and having of all things "replace" the tree with what a new, "un-soiled" tree to avoid fines??? It's just absurd... whether one thinks it's ugly or not is all a matter of opinion, and should remain as such. So when I go out to hedge my pordacarpus, or the pittosporum and I hedge it like a bonsai/topairy and the city thinks I should of hedged it square...
OK... whether or not the crapes should be murdered... Being born in the south, I understand, and have heard both sides. I can look down the street, and see examples of both, and my personal opinion is what differece does it make??? They are stumped when dormant and look ugly, but as soon as spring comes and the leaves return, most people who don't deal in plants would notice the difference, on the contrary, the might say the one that was stumped is nicer, cause it is usually fuller and ends up when let go with more flowers... One more interesting detail, is one can tightly hedge them as well, making great pads for bonsai, only don't count on flowers, only do so when let go...