I have a double row of crape myrtles planted across my property, Tontos. Last spring there was about a foot or more die back in the tops of all of them. They have been in for seven years. This was the first time there has been die back. Tontos are a shrub variety growing about 8-12 feet depending on how far south you are. The Tuscaroras and Natchez row did not have the die back. These are the tree types. I believe the reason had nothing to do with the variety, but rather lack of moisture the previous fall of 2005 and drought in the early part of 2006. The tontos are planted on a ridge which tends to dry out more than the ones on the side of my property. I beieve there is no typical winter die back. I am farther north than you are and other than that caused by the drought, I have had no winter die back in seven years. I have 175 crape myrtles on my property. I simply cut out the winter die back. At first, I decided to leave it, thinking the newer, lower growth would hide the die back, but decided that the die would be unsightly and could leave a way for insects and disease to attack the crape myrtles. One last thought, have you given them time to completely come out yet, we have had unusual cold weather at times this year. I have no sign of life on mine. Last year they were coming out about now. Trees and shrubs will start to green up lower on the stems before greening up at the tops. Of course, you can snap or thumb nail scrap the stems to see if there is any green.

I have 2 that had JUST begun to leaf out when the Easter freeze happened. They, and the others, are only now beginning to show limited signs of buds swelling. I would say to wait another few weeks to say if a branch is dead or not. I assume I will have to cut out some dead tips, but am not jumping into it until I know for sure. That said, I think I would cut off the split-bark branches, as it isn't likely they would be too vigorous after they leafed out. Take them back to the trunk, to a larger-diameter branch or to a bud facing the direction you want them to grow (not up, close to another branch or into the middle). Try not to leave a stub, as CMs will sprout from the stub end, making a messy looking growth. Keep them watered, but don't feed them as yet. CMs don't want much in the way of fertilizer anyway - it can give you lots of leaves and few flowers! Good luck.

We've got crape myrtles planted in with the roses, which get huge amounts of water..no problem for the CMs. In fact, all of ours are on the watering system..I actually think they like the water and look better. I've got a couple of reds in pots (from the plant swap) and I noticed how the blooms are not lasting very long on them. They get watered daily and fed well..may just be the 100+ temps we have been having. The whites and lighter pinks are doing fine.

bdeimel, if those were my trees, I'd most likely not cut anything just yet. I'd let them sprout growth wherever they were able and let that become my guide. Then later in the season when it's clear what's alive and what's dead, I'd begin removing the dead wood. Once you're down to just living wood, I'd then begin to prune for shape (much like you do any regular tree). There is an exception to cutting out the dead wood: If that wood is helping the new growth to "stand" upright instead of flopping over, then I'd leave the dead wood in place until the new growth can hold itself up without help. So, in effect, the dead branches would serve as stakes, holding up the new growth. If the tree's shape would be permanently deformed in the end, you may want to cut the entire tree back to the ground and start it over. It's a little late in the year to do that now so I'd probably wait until next year. Plus, by then, you should have a better idea of what the tree will look like with the new growth and then can make a more informed decision on whether to keep it that way or cut it down and restart it.