Correction to my post on peat, and how NOT to prune crape myrtles

Before I get into the crime against arboriculture known as crape murder, I first want to correct my last post, in which I advocated against using peat-based soil mixes because of how crucial peat bogs are to mitigating climate change and the fact that peat bogs only slowly replenish themselves. But a conversation I had with a co-worker the other day relieved my concerns about the use of peat in gardening products, and in actuality, made me realize that coconut coir may actually be even less sustainable and more environmentally unfriendly than using peat. He cited the fact that Canadian peat in particular only has to be trucked down to the states, whereas coconut coir has to be shipped all the way from southeast Asia via multiple modes of transportation (and thus a bigger carbon footprint). Canadian peat is also strictly regulated; peat moss producers are only allowed to harvest a certain amount per year, and have to replenish what they take out. Given that, it seems like as long as the peat moss is sourced from Canada where there are regulations in place, it’s ok to use with a clean conscience.

That aside, on to the issue of crape murder, which is what we in the horticulture business refer to as the butchering of crape myrtles via incorrect pruning. Crape myrtles should NOT be “topped” like this one below:

Hacking the trees like this results in unsightly “nubs” and weakens the overall structure of the tree as heavy flowers emerge on thinner branches that extend further down the tree. If you’re having to prune the crape myrtle so dramatically, you’ve likely planted the wrong thing in that spot. Dwarf varieties that only get about 3-5’ tall (some even shorter) have been increasing in the trade over the last few years, and include cultivars like Berry Dazzle, Cherry Dazzle, Delta Jazz, Diamond Dazzle, and Pocomoke, all of which we sell at Colesville Nursery.

But beyond choosing better cultivars for spots that can’t accommodate bigger trees, the only pruning that full sized crape myrtles should receive is removing weak, “twiggy” growth on the inside of the tree, dead and diseased branches, and removing branches that are crossing or touching, and the seed pods left over from the previous summer. The idea is to preserve as much of the tree’s natural form as possible. As for when to do this pruning, it should be done in late winter/early spring as temperatures begin to warm and before the tree starts leafing out. Of course, thinning can also be done in summer as well, to keep the inside of the tree open for air circulation.