Crape Vinca minor are shrub or minor trees with big showy bunch of long - lasting prime . aboriginal to China and Korea , these popular plants are impregnable growers in the U.S. in zones 6 through 9 , exist as far north as protected spots in Massachusetts .
Colors range from blanched to gloomy red , including shades such as pink , lilac-colored , magenta , orchid , and purple . French pancake myrtle ( also write “ crape Vinca minor ” or “ crapemyrtle ” ) play many role in the landscape painting , including street tree diagram , hedge , shrub , and specimen .
The attractive plants roll in size from 18 - inch gnome to 40 - feet upright or spreading trees .
How to Prune Crape Myrtles
Despite the all - too - coarse practice of heavy top crape myrtles , the plants commonly look and do best with just light pruning . Since pruning encourages new growth , crop in late summer or early fall will result in cranky shoots just in time to be nip by cold-blooded atmospheric condition .
If you cut back too late in the spring you will remove the flowering stems and the works wo n’t flower . That ’s why tardy winter or early spring it the idealistic time to prune French pancake myrtles ; they produce vigorous shoot at just the right clip .
For routine , tripping pruning remove outgrowth that are crossing or rubbing as well as any dead or impoverished arm . crepe Vinca minor produce an copiousness of suckers , which should also be removed .
Many gardeners turn crepe Vinca minor as compact shrub . To reach this stinger the stems back to six inches above reason floor every year before growth start in the spring . Annual removal of twigs with diameters less than a pencil will create a medium - size George W. Bush .
To farm a crape Vinca minor as an upright tree diagram , begin by take away all but three - to - five strong , well - space limbs that are growing from ground degree . As the plant matures , remove the broken lateral branches , limbing up about one - one-half of the path up the stem .
As with unremarkable pruning , remove chafe and crossing arm . Also remove suckers and shoot that grow in the center . proceed to absent suckers and lower branches as the tree grow .
While it is not necessary to take away spent flowers , on some diverseness doing so may soften a 2nd or even third flush of blooms . If you do deadhead , make the excision just above lateral arm .
Crape Myrtle Pruning Tips
When making pruning cuts , cut to side ramification or to just outside the branch pinch ( the swollen orbit where the branch fit the trunk ) .
Always keep pruning shears needlelike and neat . Cleaning shear with alcohol between works helps foreclose transmission system of disease from plant to institute .
Want to Learn More About Crape Myrtles?
If you pick out the miscellany of crape Vinca minor with the growth habit and size of it you want you ’ll have less pruning to do . This site has pictures and entropy to help you prefer .
Here ’s some great info on theCharacteristics of Crape Myrtle Varieties .
These sites have everything you need to get it on to grow crape Vinca minor :
Crapemyrtle via the Clemson Cooperative Extension .
take all aboutCrape Myrtle Culturefrom The University of Georgia Cooperative Extension .
