Don't be guilty of 'crepe murder'
Ricky Thompson

When is the best time to prune flowering trees and shrubs? The answer depends on whether the plant produces flowers on old (last year's) or new (this year's) growth.

Too many gardeners in east Texas perform "Crepe Murder," which is cutting crepe myrtles back to main trunks every fall. This causes the plant to have fewer blossoms in the spring, makes a strange looking if not downright ugly plant, and causes spindly new growth each spring. Like other trees, crepe myrtles should be pruned only by selectively cutting out whole branches to maintain the shape of the plant. If a plant is too big for the space, take it up and plant a more appropriate size.

As for trees, no tree should be "topped," which is cutting back major limbs. Trees don't recover from this radical procedure and they never bush back out attractively. As with crepe myrtles, trees should be pruned by selectively cutting out limbs back to a major node. Trees should only be pruned to maintain shape (not size), to remove dead or diseased wood, or to keep limbs from contacting structures.

So, with that said, some trees and shrubs benefit from annual pruning. It keeps them in shape, gets rid of dead and diseased wood and encourages new growth. But timing is important, especially for the ones that flower.

Early spring bloomers set their flower buds the fall before. Pruning them early in the spring would mean losing some blossoms. Most of the time this is not what you want. However, there are exceptions. It's often easier to prune when you can see the shape of the plant, before leaves mask the branches. Trees and shrubs in need of a good shaping could sacrifice a few blooms to be invigorated by a spring pruning.

The most important reason for pruning flowering shrubs, and to a lesser extent trees, is to maintain a large portion of the plant as young, vigorous wood. Since most flower buds are formed on current or previous year's growth, you can remove up to one third of the oldest wood annually to keep the plant vigorous. Such pruning will stimulate future flower and fruit development. Many flowering plants, such as azaleas, produce more flowers.

The above information on pruning comes mainly from two internet sources: http://gardening.about.com /od/treesshrubs/a/PruneTr e e S h r u b s . h t m http://www.hintsandthings. co.uk/garden/pruning.htm

Ricky Thompson is the Jasper County Agricultural Agent.