Crepe Myrtle question (appointed, house, neighborhood)

[cookiesmom]

Is it a bad year for crepe myrtles? We have several in our yard and they have been slow to flower - in fact a couple of them still haven't flowered. We've been in our house 5 years and these were already established when we moved in...and they have flowered by now in years past. I started paying attention to others in the area and they also seem to be slow or non-flowering. We haven't committed "myrtle-cide" on these plants either, so that can't be the problem.

[MINIcoopKJG]

The myrtles around my neighborhood have flowered. I only noticed because I had been watching for them to flower since I discovered what type of trees they are. I just love them! I called them "naked trees" before I knew what they were because it looks like they don't have any bark.

[southbel]

Originally Posted by cookiesmom

Is it a bad year for crepe myrtles? We have several in our yard and they have been slow to flower - in fact a couple of them still haven't flowered. We've been in our house 5 years and these were already established when we moved in...and they have flowered by now in years past. I started paying attention to others in the area and they also seem to be slow or non-flowering. We haven't committed "myrtle-cide" on these plants either, so that can't be the problem.

Did you prune them? Not crape murder, just regular pruning? Fertilize them; that will help.

[TealDreamer]

We have about 5 in our yard, and they've all flowered well this year. We did prune them back, though, before spring arrived. The pruning is supposed to help them to flower the next season.

[Sprouts]

We don't have any Myrtles at the moment but when we lived in the Charlotte, Nc area.....we'd heavily pruned them in late winter/early spring (1/4 of the bush). All the landscapers did that as well. Not sure if all varieties require the same pruning.

[moneill]

Prune or don't prune -- this year has been a so so year for crepe myrtles. Don't prune -- It's called crepe murder with true gardeners

[Al G]

We haven't pruned ours in a few years (landscapers say you shouldn't) but ours, and the few we have in our area are not doing well this year either.

[moneill]

Look around -- prune or not...not a good year. There are so many types that bloom at different times. Doesn't seem to matter the age of the tree, the type of three, etc...this year has been a tough one.

[cookiesmom]

We did not prune them so maybe a light trim over the winter would help? But also glad to hear it's not just our myrtles that are not looking so well. Thanks!

[Sprouts]

Originally Posted by moneill

Prune or don't prune -- this year has been a so so year for crepe myrtles. Don't prune -- It's called crepe murder with true gardeners

Crepe Myrtle Pruning Step-by-Step – The Daily South | Your Hub for Southern Culture

Yes, don't crepe murder but that I'd consider an extreme pruning.

I do swear cutting back our bush by about 1/4 and thin a tad, made a positive difference (I can't speak for all regions and all varieties). My neighbor who had the same bush didn't cut it back one year and wished he had, after seeing ours. If we didn't prune, we'd have bloom corpse (as I called them). Our bush blumed the last week of July and I remember being disappointed when I had out of town plans because I'd miss its glory. Such a pretty bush.