tonto crape myrtle flowers so heavy limbs almost touch ground. can i trim these back or just remove the flowers?

I have two tontos 4 ft high. I have lost a large limb to breakage on each one. The flowers are so heavy on the branches they almost touch the ground. I would like to prune these back some but don’t want to stunt the growth. Being It’s August, should I just wait until Jan/Feb to trim to shape, or can I light trim to shape now?

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1 Comment To "tonto crape myrtle flowers so heavy limbs almost touch ground. can i trim these back or just remove the flowers?"

#1 Comment By BushDoctor On 08/14/2019 @ 8:12 am

I would wait until the cool season, or dormancy. This will keep from the shrub getting an infection.

In the future, these should be pruned pretty well every year. This will prevent future limbs breaking.

These articles will help: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/pruning-crepe-myrtle-trees.htm ^[1]

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/crepe-myrtle-care.htm ^[2]

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[1] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/pruning-crepe-myrtle-trees.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/pruning-crepe-myrtle-trees.htm

[2] https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/crepe-myrtle-care.htm: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/crepe-myrtle/crepe-myrtle-care.htm

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