Crepe Myrtles

This is a flowering beautifying Crepe Myrtle.  You may have seen these, they are quite popular in my region, and come in a variety of colors, the most popular being pink.  The one I planted has been growing for several years, about 5 now I think.  When I chose this ornamental, I decided I wanted it to be in a tree format.  It's important to make that choice for this plant since it can and will revert to a bush-like state, which is the norm.  It can be cultivated into a tree however, and that is what I will discuss here.  When I purchased the young plant, I carefully chose one that appeared to have a single main trunk.  I wanted a white, which at the time was less hardy than others.  I planted it at home and removed the secondary trunk from the original plant.  After that it only required annual pruning.  This is what I now have:

 This particular plant doesn't bloom until mid to late summer and then blooms almost until fall begins.  It is generally draped with small white flowers that have no fragrance.

if you look carefully at the first photo, you'll see at the bottom of the trunk, shoots of new growth attempting to take hold.  If allowed to remain, these shoots would develop into new trunks.  If this is desired, leave them, I do not wish to give up my 'tree', so this is what I do every year:

 Here you can see the shoots much closer

No special tools are required, simply break off the shoots at the base of the tree.

Nice clean lines now.  I wanted my tree to have a base trunk with a division.  I did a great deal of shaping when the tree was young and now need only maintain the desired shape.