I saw your question on the shrubs forum, but didn't know what you were asking, so came over here. I just couldn't let a question from a fellow Mississippian go by! I live in Meridian. Anyway, Crape Myrtles are hard to classify! Trees...shrubs...they're kind of both, though I think taxonomically, they are shrubs. The info you got about cutting off spent blooms is correct. You may have noticed the green, round, ball-like things on the end of the branches. They can fool you. You think they're new flowers forming, but they are actually seeds. If you cut them off, the tree (shrub) will produce more flowers. But even if you don't religiously cut them off, most crapes will continue to bloom all summer, though not as heavily. That's why they call them the Tree of a Hundred Days. (I guess it is a tree! :) If I may, can I share with you my own prejudice? Please do not pollard your crape myrtles in late winter or early spring, as is so commonly done here. (in other words chop off their limbs in mid-branch) Many folks in our part of the country will tell you they will bloom better if you do. NOT true. And, to me, the winter form of a well-grown crape myrtle is just as beautiful as it is in bloom, maybe more so. As they grow and get older, the trunks and branches look like sculpture. Yes, cut off excess branches (at their point of origin on the trunk or limbs) to showcase the form of the tree. Yes, nip off spent blooms. But don't leave big stumpy limbs that produce big knotty scar tissue, and then sprout a hundred small branches that grow in every direction like witch's brooms. I will probably get all kinds of disagreements on this, and I say ahead of time, everyone has a right to their own opinion, including you, but this is such a common practice that I believe most people do it because it's standard procedure, and they've never questioned it. Thanks for listening!

my CMs are the same way, the white ones have bloomed fine, the pink ones little to none at all. i do nothing to them but prune them lightly, no fertilizer, no water other than rain. most around here are the same way. BTW, i have about 20 left in my yard. i pulled up 10 or so and burnt them in the burn pile. my mom recently went to buy a couple to fill in a spot in her yard, and a 5 ft CM was 150.00! if i had known they go for so high a price, i would have dug them up and sold them! a couple of mine were 10ft+ in height. the previous owner of our house did nothing to the CM. he did not even prune them. the ones along the drive are space 20 ft apart, and when we moved in the branches were actually intertwined in the middle! that took a lot of work to get them back into shape. a couple are really ugly right now, but i am letting new trunks grow in straight instead of all over like they were.

OMG! In all my CMs, I've never had something like this happen! It sounds like something's affecting its roots, or it's been sprayed with something (neighbor's drift?) If it's this fast, today might be too late. I'd call Bhenke's and get someone out there to look at it. That's a beautiful tree and I'd hate for you to lose it! This is a professional thing. Homestead, as much as they're $$, could help too. I don't know any other arborists. I wish you GOOD LUCK!

Here in Northeastern Ohio, I have been growing the "Zuni" crepe myrtle for about 5 years. Some years it dies back completely to the ground, others it doesn't die back at all, depending on the severity of the winter. I planted a small "Catawba" last year that had very little tip die back after -3F. One thing is for sure that no matter how much they die back the always regrow very quickly and flower in August, when not much else is in bloom. Also, I have had good luck with Edith Bogue Southern Magnolia here and this year planted two 8 ft. Bracken's Brown Beauty... We'll see how they do. Finally just a note and some observations for those who might want to try crepe myrltes up here--- Our temps in NE Ohio seem to be somewhat influenced and moderated by Lake Erie, so the extreme cold isn't as severe as mid Ohio, but cold below 32F is more persistent which can be just as dangerous to marginal plant survival... Luckily, more than generous lake effect snow cover can aid in the survival of old wood on crepe myrtles allowing for less damage to occur. Also our consitant cloud cover and lack of sun in the winter may seem like a curse, but it is a blessing to many marginally hardy broadleaved evergreens, because the summer sun, in particular appears to do more damage by drying out evergreens such as Holly, Rhododendrons, and Southern Magnolias. these are just some of my personal observations. I look forward to here what others have to say on this.