Archives February 2020

The most common mistake made in caring for crape myrtles is the practice of “topping.” Topping involves removing branches and trunks from the top down, trimming all material above a certain height. Usually, all leaves, blooms, and other green material are removed, leaving only bare trunks. Because of their resilience, topped crape myrtles do not die, but begin new growth from the height to which they were trimmed. As the topping is repeated year-to-year, the lower trunks of the crape myrtle age, while the top can remain twiggy.

Don’t Top Your Crape Myrtles!

• Topping a crape myrtle destroys the natural balance and beauty of the tree.
• Improperly trimmed multi-trunk crape myrtles have weakend immune responses and cannot fight off disease and insects as well.
• As the topping continues, the crape myrtles can respond by growing more trunks, worsening the problem.
  • Topped crape myrtles have weak branch connections and are prone to breaking.

Why Do People in Texas Top Crape Myrtles?

• We don’t know! It looks terrible, is terrible for the health of the tree, and causes long-term problems.
  • Some companies even advertise crape myrtle topping as a service — just another reason to make sure you use a tree service that employs local certified arborists who know how best to care for trees.

Doesn’t Topping Crape Myrtles Help Them Bloom?

• Not in the long run! While it is true that crape myrtles bloom on each year’s new growth, a healthy and properly-trimmed tree will have more and stronger new growth, leading to more blossoms.
  • If a particular size or shape is desired, or it is necessary to reduce the trees’ height (for example, under power lines or eaves), proper trimming with care and attention can yield the same results without topping.
• With the variety of crape myrtles cultivars available, examples of different sizes and growth rates can be found that are suited for various applications in North Texas landscapes.

For more information on crape myrtles, read our recent post.

Why is my live oak looking sick and dropping leaves?

Falling leaves, just like color changes, have become a hallmark of Autumn, but not all trees drop their leaves in the Fall. In North Texas, we have a lot of live oaks, which is one particular exception to the “trees just lose leaves in Fall” rule. Are your Texas live oaks looking brown or sick and dropping leaves? It’s probably just a seasonal leaf exchange.

Live Oaks Have a Leaf Exchange in Spring

• For many trees, dropping leaves is a way of preparing to go dormant during the cold winter months.
  • Live oaks, however, can lose leaves throughout the year and generally stay green during the winter. The major live oak leaf drop takes place in the Spring.
• When the weather warms up, and the trees move out of winter dormancy, live oaks begin to develop new leaf buds.
  • Before the new leaves can grow, however, live oaks have to drop the old leaves.
  • As the old leaves die, they turn brown and fall, preparing for the new leaves to bud out.
• If, however, the fallen leaves have yellow spots or yellow veins, there may be something else causing the live oaks stress.
  • Contact a certified arborist to evaluate your trees for signs of environmental stress, pest activity, or oak wilt.