Dried withered buds on crepe myrtle

Question

What are the dried buds or withered buds on my crepe myrtle trees and should I remove these? My first yr. in the south and the trees were there. Don’t know if they flowered last yr. When do they start flowering?

Answer 1

They flower in the early spring. This year is likely not a good year to judge the flowering as the weather was odd, so it is likely that some of the buds were taken by a frost after and early warm spell.

You can just prune off the withered buds. They will not bloom.

If you see this next year (and the weather is more normal next year), it could be a pest called thrips. The can attack flower buds and kill them.