C is for Crepe Murder
/crāp məd’ah/
Crepe Murder: the unspoken crime of the South.
Crepe Myrtle are beautiful flowering bushes and trees with lacy blooms that range in color, much like Azaleas, from snowy white to the deepest red. They’re hardy, love warm weather and mild winters and tend to be very easy to grow, so they’re very commonly found in the Southern states – almost everyone I know has at least one Crepe Myrtle growing in their yard.
Crepe Myrtles in Spring
A wall of exquisite blossoms
Unlike Azaleas (which people tend to let run rogue), for some reason, it’s commonly believed that Crepe Myrtles must be pruned every year to insure full flowering.
And some people take to this with the twisted enthusiasm of a serial killer.
The result, ladies and gentlemen, is known as “Crepe Murder.”
Tragically, most horticulturists agree that it’s a purposeless crime. They say that pruning, especially severe, accomplishes nothing but wounding the plant. Crepe Myrtles will flower and grow just fine without any “helpful” human hacking.
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“Maybe he murdered Myrtle; that would’ve done everyone a favor. . . .”
J.K. Rowling
Drunk on Life 
Oh my goodness, those pictures just hurt my gardener’s heart! The trees are so lovely in bloom, why would anyone do such a thing! *shakingmyhead* Poor, sad, Crepes.
An awesome choice for C!
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Thank you! They are so gorgeous right now- I hate to think of the sad little stumps. 😕
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Beautiful! Love how you tied into the book quote! I do like the prune back all the little shoots from the bottom and lower sides, but I let the rest grow free!
Revisit the Tender Years with me during the #AtoZChallenge at Life & Faith in Caneyhead!
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Thanks, Barbara! It’s just such a tradition to prune them back so severely – I think most people just don’t realize it’s not the right thing to do.
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That sounds like it would be a great title of a mystery, Crepe Myrtle. 🙂
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I think there is one, but it’s a different kind of crepe. It’s by an author named Harper Lin.
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Oh well, it could be Crepe Murders. You could do a lot with that title because it could be based on cooking 😉 I really like your stories about the South BTW. 🙂
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Thank you, Deborah! My Daddy comes from a long line of story tellers – it’s nice to find my own way of continuing the tradition. I appreciate your reading and comments!
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My pleasure. Our stories are important. 🙂
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I don’t think those are pictures of “pruning”, that’s flat out butchering! It reminds me of what the power company did to the trees around here that grew anywhere near power lines (Granted, it’s nice we don’t have frequent outrages anymore)…
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I think crepe murder calls to some folk’s inner evil. 🙂
What about your poor squirrels?!? Did they lose their access to hot-footin it on the power lines?
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In my backyard, yes! Now they can only get there by climbing the pole, making the wires a true limited access highway…
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Like the Squirrel-abahn. 😉
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I see this every year here but I don’t think I realized there was a name for it. Perfect…sad, of course…but perfect term.
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Yes, I totally agree – sad but perfect. Love the term, hate the crime!
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