Although the crape myrtle is originally from eastern Asia, its presence in the U.S. South is dominant. First introduced to South Carolina in the late 1700s, the crape myrtle come in a variety of colors from white to red to a deep purple. Obviously the tree is dormant in the winter months but by late winter it’s time to prune. That’s the common advice but temperatures are atypically warm in central Florida this year. I noticed some gardeners have trimmed their trees as early as mid January. Crape myrtles have already sprouted in the region.
My crape myrtle is young. I planted it a year ago and the branches grew to the width of pencil or less. So I trimmed those. I’m no expert in this arena but the gurus at the University of Arkansas suggest that butchering crape myrtles–cutting off big branches so the tree is only 4-5 feet high–is maybe not the way to go. Here is their tutorial on the right way to trim the tree.
Florida Garden 