Do I Need to Prune a Natchez Crape Myrtle?

The result of a hybrid cross in the mid-1960s, the crape myrtle cultivar Natchez was introduced into the American horticultural landscape in 1978. Growing with multiple trunks that drop off bark strips to create an orange-gray and cinnamon display, Natchez also bears large white flower clusters in early to midsummer. This deciduous tree grows up to 30 feet tall and 35 feet wide with a graceful, umbrella-like silhouette. Pruning crape myrtle in late winter ensures a good branching structure early on in the plant's life.

Overall, a Natchez crape myrtle does not need to be judiciously pruned for it to flower well or develop an attractive habit. Removing dead or broken branches is always necessary and can be done any time of year. Crape myrtles, like other trees, survived for millennia without any pruning maintenance at the hands of man. Even if never pruned, a Natchez crape myrtle will still manage to mature to the same size, display the same attractively colored and flaking bark and profusely flower each summer.

When your Natchez crape myrtle is small, monitor the growth and prune, as needed, to create a healthy, structurally sound branching system. Pruning, when the tree is small and easy to prune, ensures less need for any pruning later once the tree becomes large. Each tree should have between three to seven trunks that do not rub against each other or inter-grow their barks. Remove any suckering shoots that sprout from the roots or the multiple trunks. Also cut away any rubbing branches or those that cross inward across the center of the canopy or shoot awkwardly upward, rather than growing outward toward the light.

Across the American South, landscapers perpetuate the poor horticultural practice of severely and arbitrarily cutting back all crape myrtles, regardless of cultivar, creating large, coarse wounds. Although new suckering shoots grow from the wounds, the natural silhouette of the tree is destroyed, and the flower clusters become so large that they bend and droop the branches. Do not hack back your Natchez crape myrtle. Even if never pruned, this tree still sprouts new twigs each spring that later yield impressive white flower clusters on branch tips.

While trimming out weak growth or the occasional branch on a Natchez crape myrtle over the course of its lifetime is acceptable, you should allow this tree to grow to its fullest potential with minimal pruning. With its striking exfoliating bark, this cultivar remains attractive in all seasons, but the trunk and bare branches become particularly distinctive from fall to spring. Improperly pruning a Natchez crape myrtle ruins its pleasant branching structure and detracts from the beauty of the colorful bark and multiple trunks. Once it is severely and improperly pruned, significant work is needed to restore a healthy and attractive branching network and silhouette.