I have a Crape Myrtle Tree that has been in my Garden for 4 Years. It is the most beautiful hot pink color and blooms all Summer long. The first couple of Years I pruned the old flowers off but this Year I left them alone since I read someplace that they fall off on there own, well that did not happen and now that it is in full Leaf it looks bad with all those dead ends . Do I have to prune them or will I have Flowers anyway ? Also the Trunk was very thin when we got it and it has never gotten thicker, we have it tied to the Fence so it doesn't blow over.
You can trim off last years blooms or leave them on. They don't need to be trimmed off to get blooms this year since it the blossoms form on this years growth, not the growth that bloomed last year. They don't have thick trunks, most of them have multi-trunks most of which are only a few inches in diameter. A tree trunk that is tied to something for support never grows strong enough on it's own to stand steady. Go ahead and untie it, let it get stronger...it will be a much healthier tree because of it. If you have very high winds, like in a storm, you might secure it otherwise it will be fine.
Thank you Toni. I have pruned some and left the rest. As for having the Tree tied up, it is a must, it is about 7' tall and the Trunk no bigger then a branch always was that way. I will take a picture tomorrow so you can see.
