Crape Murder Continues
Mardel Fraivillig
It’s that time of year when Crape Murder is committed! I am not sure how this horrible procedure began, but it is wide spread in the Houston area – and unfortunately most people believe that butchering Crape Myrtles is the correct way to prune. Please read and help us stop this trend!!
Topping Crape Myrtles is a bad idea, which most likely begun by an un-informed landscaper looking for something to do during the winter months. One person sees another and a revolution of bad-practice begins!
The topped Crape Myrtles develop knobs at the ends of the pruned branches when they are repeatedly butchered over the years. A witches-broom of thinner weaker branches grow out of these knotted ends. Some people think that topping these trees will actually produce more blooms. This is not true, in fact, a topped Crape Myrtle will bloom less – the blooms will be larger and heavier, and unfortunately the weaker twig-like branches now cannot support the flowers.
Crape Myrtles do not require yearly pruning but if you feel it is necessary to prune your tree follow these basic steps:
- Remove suckers from the bottom of the plant.
- Remove crossed, damaged or diseased branches.
- For crossed branches – remove the weaker of the two rubbing each other.
- Prune the tips of the branches to remove spent blooms. If old blooms are removed a second blooming may occur.
- Thin out small twiggy growth to allow better air circulation through the canopy
- Or, call our arborist so we can properly prune the tree for you.
If you have an already butchered Crape Myrtle you might want to follow one of these options:
- Choose the strongest 2-3 sprouts from each stub and remove all other sprouts. Continue doing this for a few years and your tree should become stronger.
- The other more drastic approach is to cut the tree back to 3-6” off the ground during dormancy. After 2-3 weeks of growth choose three to five of the strongest shoots on each trunk and remove all others. Remove any new shoots that come up later. In three to five years your Crape Myrtle will return back to its natural beautiful shape.
- If you do not want to wait that long – let us remove the butchered Crape Myrtle and help you select a new one that best fits your space! These trees which I refer to as the Lilacs of the South are always readily available at our nursery!
Please help me spread the word and let’s stop butchering and committing Crape Murder!
Ciao Mardel
Alas! I think I felt a cool breeze this morning. Is Fall finally here? We are so lucky in Houston, as our Fall and Winter months are usually very mild. This is actually a great time of year to enjoy the garden with our family and friends. Get your garden gloves on and join me – let’s plant our Fall-Winter color.
The last three days had freezing temperatures. As you walk around the garden some plants may start to show you signs of frost damage. You will most likely see dark areas on the leaves, wilting or a burnt appearance. The following are some things you can do to help protect these damaged plants.
I am so excited that September is finally here and the end of the hot humid and long summer is in sight. I know you are also excited and ready for Fall flowers! However, we must wait a few more weeks until the temperature cools down some, at least at night. In the meantime, here is a list of things you should be doing to get ready for the beautiful fall flowers and gardens!
Finding plants that preform well in the hot and humid Houston area is tough, finding ones that stay beautiful all year is harder. Over the years, we have found several plants that are staples to most of our landscape design. Below are the ones that made it to the top ten!
If you are like me, and still have Christmas shopping to do here are 10 wonderful gift ideas for the garden lover!
It has been an exciting 8 months here at Bay Area Design & Landscape. We are thrilled to announce that our Bay Area Family is growing– as our beautiful and talented Kimberly is expecting a baby this December! Nothing brings more joy and warmth to our hearts than the forthcoming birth of a baby!! Amidst our bustling office schedule, we have been secretly happily awaiting the arrival of Dean Chapman, and Amanda and I have been fighting to hold Kim’s belly and feel Dean kick around — poor Kim, she is petered daily with unwanted attention!
Some loves are everlasting– for me this love has always been the French Anduze and Biot planters! As a little girl, I remember playing in my grandmother’s courtyard and admiring a pair of beautiful Anduze Urns and several large Biot jars. I dreamed of one day having a courtyard just like this. A large fountain in the center, with beautiful pots filled with citrus and flowers decorating the space. Little did I know that my admiration for these pots would remain, as they are still my favorite urns!
It has been a couple of weeks now since Horrible hurricane Harvey ravaged our area with its historical rains. We at Bay Area Design, along with many of our friends, neighbors, clients and fellow Houstonians have just now finished cleaning up the debris inside our homes, and ready to start focusing on our gardens. Below are a few tips to help you out.
For the third year in a row one of our designs has been chosen to receive an award from an outdoor living magazine Hearth and Home. This year the winning design was for a Rustic Retreat with a French Provencal twist.
So many of us spend countless hours focusing on the interior of our homes, yet sadly dis-regard the front entrance! This is the first impression any visitor or potential buyer is going to get of your home. Most of my realtor friends tell me that buyers usually make up their mind about a house immediately as they see it and approach the front door!!! They say most buyers can already imagine themselves living there if the front yard makes a good impression and gives them that “good-feeling”. How important is this if you are trying to sell your home! Likewise, for our guests, the front entrance is like a window into your personality and sense of style!
Alas! I think I felt a cool breeze this morning. Is Fall finally here? We are so lucky in Houston, as our Fall and Winter months are usually very mild. This is actually a great time of year to enjoy the garden with our family and friends. Get your garden gloves on and join me – let’s plant our Fall-Winter color.
The last three days had freezing temperatures. As you walk around the garden some plants may start to show you signs of frost damage. You will most likely see dark areas on the leaves, wilting or a burnt appearance. The following are some things you can do to help protect these damaged plants.
I am so excited that September is finally here and the end of the hot humid and long summer is in sight. I know you are also excited and ready for Fall flowers! However, we must wait a few more weeks until the temperature cools down some, at least at night. In the meantime, here is a list of things you should be doing to get ready for the beautiful fall flowers and gardens!
Finding plants that preform well in the hot and humid Houston area is tough, finding ones that stay beautiful all year is harder. Over the years, we have found several plants that are staples to most of our landscape design. Below are the ones that made it to the top ten!
If you are like me, and still have Christmas shopping to do here are 10 wonderful gift ideas for the garden lover!
It has been an exciting 8 months here at Bay Area Design & Landscape. We are thrilled to announce that our Bay Area Family is growing– as our beautiful and talented Kimberly is expecting a baby this December! Nothing brings more joy and warmth to our hearts than the forthcoming birth of a baby!! Amidst our bustling office schedule, we have been secretly happily awaiting the arrival of Dean Chapman, and Amanda and I have been fighting to hold Kim’s belly and feel Dean kick around — poor Kim, she is petered daily with unwanted attention!
Some loves are everlasting– for me this love has always been the French Anduze and Biot planters! As a little girl, I remember playing in my grandmother’s courtyard and admiring a pair of beautiful Anduze Urns and several large Biot jars. I dreamed of one day having a courtyard just like this. A large fountain in the center, with beautiful pots filled with citrus and flowers decorating the space. Little did I know that my admiration for these pots would remain, as they are still my favorite urns!
It has been a couple of weeks now since Horrible hurricane Harvey ravaged our area with its historical rains. We at Bay Area Design, along with many of our friends, neighbors, clients and fellow Houstonians have just now finished cleaning up the debris inside our homes, and ready to start focusing on our gardens. Below are a few tips to help you out.
For the third year in a row one of our designs has been chosen to receive an award from an outdoor living magazine Hearth and Home. This year the winning design was for a Rustic Retreat with a French Provencal twist.
So many of us spend countless hours focusing on the interior of our homes, yet sadly dis-regard the front entrance! This is the first impression any visitor or potential buyer is going to get of your home. Most of my realtor friends tell me that buyers usually make up their mind about a house immediately as they see it and approach the front door!!! They say most buyers can already imagine themselves living there if the front yard makes a good impression and gives them that “good-feeling”. How important is this if you are trying to sell your home! Likewise, for our guests, the front entrance is like a window into your personality and sense of style!
