Question
My husband trimmed my crepe myrtles all of the way back in March. We got beautiful new full growth on all of them. Now all of a sudden all of the new shoots are just falling off. Do you have any idea why?

Answer
Charlotte

Some people recommend trimming back to the first knucle on each leader.  Some trimm all the way back to the trunk.  Some only cut the old blooms off.  The fact is trimming anything back will allways shock the plant to some degree.  The harder you trimm them back and the more uneven cuts or rips in the bark the more succeptable your trees will be to bacteria entering the wounds.  Even though the tree bloomed out it may have just taken time for the bacteria to manifest enough to begin chockin off the nutrient flow to your blooms as this is critical for the tree.

You may have also over fertilized these trees and the same symptoms will occur.  Massive blooms and them crash.  If you are not using a slow release fertilizer you may want to consider one.  Cheap fertilizer is like "Crack" to plants.  And they will perform accordingly.  Aereate your soil underneath each plant.  Your husband can do this with a long screwdriver or rod.  Go down 1 foot and out to the drip line and scrape away any fertilizer on the ground.

There is a new product on the market that will de-tox these trees and you will be the talk of the neighborhood agian.  Get a quart.

Go to atomicgrow.com
or    atomicgrow.net

I have used this product on Crepe Myrtles in SC and FL and it works very well and its all natural.
Good Luck
James