Crepe myrtles (Lagerstroemia indica) is a species of tree that I love seeing around Sydney during the summer, mainly because of the vibrant flowers in many shades of pink, red, purple and white. One thing that I really find unnecessary is pollarding these trees, as their natural form is far nicer than when they are pollarded (I have a post on pollarding, which you can read here). There are several reasons given as to why these trees are treated this way, all of which I find rather vague, pointless and have an argument against it.
One reason given for pollarding these delightful trees when I was doing my horticultural training was to give people a job after the Second World War. From there, it became expected that all the crepe myrtles planted along streets would get an annual hair cut. This is something that I still see today at work and home.
Today, we live in a completely different world to the one that existed immediately after the Second World War. Many people still need jobs, but a lot don’t want to be working outside getting dirty and often more than a little sweaty! There are not as many people that need a job or something to do, after coming back from war. The expectation thing is also a bit old. The Second World War finished 80 years ago-if all our attitudes, ideas and expectations were the same now as then, the world would be rather different, and not always in a great way. Change can be a good thing.
Another reason connected to the expectation is the traditional theory that a heavy prune in winter discourages growth, while also promoting arching stems and flowers. Trees grow, that is what they are supposed to do. If the tree is too big for the space that it is expected to ‘not grow’ in, get a different, smaller tree or a completely different plant instead. It really is that simple.
Where I currently work, the crepe myrtles are pollarded. Instead of having their growth above head height, and so out of the way, their growth is around my shoulder to head height and above (I’m 5 foot 8 inches/1.73 metres for reference), so cannot walk under the tree canopy. Also, the arching stems that grow each year are really bushy, growing part way over the footpaths of the area-so I’m calling time on the ‘discourages growth’ line-it is absolute nonsense!
As for the flowering, the trees flower well, no matter what you do. That is what crepe myrtles are best at, so just let them get on with it!
Another line that a couple of colleagues have used in the past is that the branches that grow through the tree will rub against other branches, causing a wound to form and then lead to infection and disease. This is very true, but the point here is that standard maintenance should be to look at the tree and remove any branches that will cause problems before they cause a problem. Easy and quick to do-easier and quicker than any future pollarding. It is that simple.
The other big one that I hear all the time is about the mess that these trees make once their fruits start falling off the trees. The trees do make a mess in autumn. Their little round fruits could also be a hazard for those a little unsteady on their feet. I get it. Again, it comes down to plant choices, a little knowledge and planting this species in an appropriate spot.
If you don’t like the mess the tree makes, can’t/won’t clean it up, or are a little unsteady on your feet to the point where the fruits could cause a fall, the don’t plant the tree where it will cause you grief-plant it where the mess won’t cause drama. Or find another species that provides the colour or whatever it is you want, but is less messy.
You may have gathered by now that I really don’t like pollarding trees, especially crepe myrtles. They are a beautiful tree species in their natural form-plant them in a space that is big enough to grow as they naturally want to, where the mess won’t cause offence or injury and enjoy it as it naturally is.