Severe ‘Pruning’

Question

Our mature crepe myrtle was in a poor location. My grandson has chopped all the limbs down severly. . . more than just pruning. The ‘stumps’ are about 4 and 1/2 feet high. It had not bloomed yet. Is there any hope that the tree will survive, or should I remove it completely? All the leaves are gone. We have bare limbs. . . .that’s all.

Answer 1

It sounds like he may have "pollarded" the tree. Crepe myrtles can recover from this type of pruning, but may look a little odd for a few years. The tree should start rebranching and should bloom again in 1-2 years.