If you can catch the suckers while they are still fairly small, it is better to grasp them as low as you can, and twist/pull them off. If the sucker is already too large for that, use pruners, but be sure to remove as much of the sucker as you can--even if you need to go below the soil line a few inches. These methods help to keep the number of suckers that form in check. With crepe myrtles, every little bit helps with some of these guys, because they can be determined little suckers. This post was edited by Gyr_Falcon on Wed, Jul 2, 14 at 0:28

Hi Ginny I would cut-em and not look back. The more you prune the more stems in the future you will have. I have 25 or more any where from 2 years to 10 plus years and I am the queen of pruning. I have been know to cut some down to ground level on purpose, and they do nothing but come up with more and more new shoots. I have a polish spirt that is probably 3 or 4 years old and it has been in a pot up until I planted it late October last year.It had done great in its pot and was 10 feet or more tall last year and was covered in blooms. It had about 6 vines on it when I transplanted it last year and I cut those down to about 6" and then I buryed most of those when I planted it deeper during transplanting. Looked at it over the weekend and I has 10 or more new 2" tall dark green health stems coming from the ground now.. It should be gorgeous this year. I have a group #2 some times I will cut 1/2 of it's stems down to the ground just to make it put out more stems and leave the other 1/2. I have a Ramona that is probably 10 years old and she is a group 2 and she has 20 or more vines on her right now. I have an Asao which is group 2 and she always puts out new shoots from the ground wether I prune her of not. I Always try to prune some of the vines and I also try to leave some on the 2's for the early blooms. My Ms bateman is coming on strong right now, I just clean her up a bit, not much pruning required on her and she will have probably close to a 100 blooms on her, she's a early girl for me. My Jackmanni right now probably has 15 to 20 new stems come up as well as Nelly Moser, Ms. Thompson has probably 6 new stems on her.

Thanks for the suggestions, Emmarene. Those landscape are beautiful. I think you're right about the topiaries being Eugenia. I had a chance to take another quick look at the house/plants this weekend. I might let the topiaries flanking the garage be, or maybe make them more rounded instead of the current flat top look. I want to remove the ones in front of the porch. In my opinion, there are too many shrubs in the front border. The crape myrtles in the front yard have been pruned in a way I don't like, especially since they lose their leaves in the winter and the branches are bare. I'm not fond of the rock mulch, but it will be so much work to remove it! I know there are bougainvillea pruned into round shapes in the front border, and there is a large orange bird of paradise that I hadn't noticed before. I saw some smaller Ixora pruned into squares--also, not a fan of that pruning job. Other IDs will have to wait until we are the owners. Marcia

May Lee, I would put less weight on the opinions of the people here, and more into research on what off campus college rentals are like in your area. How large are the units, how large are the bedrooms, what are the rents per square foot being charged? Are rentals more commonly by the bedroom or for the entire unit? What is expected in kitchens and common areas? What sort of students choose to live in your neighborhoods? I would aim at attracting graduate students, as they are more likely to be focused on their studies, be quieter, cause less disturbances, and have a greater level of maturity, especially if the schools near you have programs in areas such as medical, law, or architecture. From my experience in being a college student at an urban campus within the last 10 years: 1. Almost all graduate students in most of the US choose to live off campus, unless they are international. Many undergraduate students if allowed would rather live off campus too, because on campus living often either means sharing a bedroom and a bathroom and very little privacy, or you or your parents have to spring for the overpriced on-campus apartment style units. Living off campus is almost always cheaper. 2. As a college student I would never rent a unit without appliances. Unless it's expected that I have my own mini-fridge, and then there has to be a place to put it. Honestly as an adult I would never rent a unit without appliances, but maybe that is a regional thing. In fact, don't allow a tenant to have a hot plate, or space heaters, or anything else that could be an electrical hazard. 3. Most college students that I knew, unless they were really tall had a twin bed or full size bed. Queen beds or larger are a pain to move around, which college students frequently do. I've also had many roughly 10x10 bedrooms and they have worked just fine. Sure, the bed either has to be in the corner or closer to the wall than usual, but only one person will be sleeping in there (another note, your lease should have limits on the number of nights that your tenants can have visitors). 4. That said, the bedrooms should absolutely be designed so that each can comfortably fit a desk in addition to a bed. If your closets are setup well enough, these rooms don't need to fit anything else large. A student might have a small bookshelf or dresser, but they likely won't come with too many clothes.Or if they do, they will need to find themselves a larger more expensive apartment (back to what I said above about knowing your local market). 5. If I am a student and I am on a budget, I will absolutely compromise for a smaller unit if that means that I can get it for less. I have lived in my share of studios and tiny bedrooms. If your space is actually a little smaller than the typical in your neighborhood, and you charge a little less for it, that may work to your advantage. 6. Your common area doesn't have to be huge. If it fits a table for 2 a sofa and a TV, you are all set. My experience with common areas and students is that they actually don't get used a ton. And making them larger just invites large gatherings, which may be disruptive to you upstairs. 7. Is the washer and dryer available to the renters to use as well. Having done it once, I would never again rent a unit without laundry in the building. No one wants to cart their clothes a few blocks to the local laundromat in the rain because that was the only day available to get it done. 8. A dishwasher is really nice to have, but I have rented many apartments both during and after college without them. This is another case where I would see what rentals in the neighborhood have. A couple thoughts on your latest plan: 1. The closet in bedroom 2 being 3' deep is just wasting space. I would make it a more standard 25-26" deep and give that space back to one of the bedrooms. 2. I would mirror the bathroom/closet design of bedroom 1 so that the closet is away from the door and can have a full width bifold door. That will make it more useful. 3. Rethink the shelf in bedroom #2. This should either be a small closet or cabinet facing out into the hall, or delete the stub wall next to it and make this a full height wider cabinet next to the vanity. 4. I second that the furnace as located in the garage is just asking to be hit and banged into, since it hangs out into the garage door. If you have a small car, are likely to always have a small car, and the average buyer in your city also has a small car I would make a dedicated utility closet at the end of one of the stalls, leaving the other side longer for larger vehicles. 5. Most importantly, I think the common area needs another revision. The kitchen is wasting space in the corner, and there isn't a great way to layout furniture in the rest of the space. Maybe there is a way to get the kitchen back on the wall by the stairs, except the refrigerator? I would do a 24" electric stove and 24" refrigerator/freezer combo with a 24"-30" lower cabinet for storage and workspace. If you don't have a dishwasher I would try to fit in a small double basin sink. Upper cabinets should be generous and extend to the ceiling if possible. Try to then get two opposite walls across from each other that are clear to place a sofa and TV.