Hey, I've seen quite a few questions about how to correct a 'murdered' crepe myrtle, and each answer asked for pictures! So, without further ado:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/styxriver23/sets/72157632523390550/Background: Moved into this house last year, obviously there's many years of damage to this tree. Monkey see, monkey do, I repeated the mistake. It suffered from all of the 'topping' effects that I've seen, including weeping branches and explosive growth.
After doing some other research, came across this site and many informative articles about crepe myrtles. I want to restore this tree as best as possible, and I realize it will take time. The house was built around 20 years ago, and I'm assuming the tree was planted around the same time.
The base trunk is significant, and it immediately branches out into 4 additional 'trunks'. About 2-3 feet up are the first set of knuckles, then it looks like it was allowed to grow another 2 feet before they started topping it there. I can only assume that the bushes next to the myrtle provided the initial 'cutting line' before whatever landscaping company the previous owners employed changed their topping location.
This myrtle grows to be quite tall, exceeding 15' easily, and is very close to the house, within about 2 feet, and usually scrapes the roof on that side. I'd like to restore the tree as best as possible and avoid removing it if possible, which may require some creative pruning, but I'm up for the challenge. I'd like to prevent it from getting so large (there's a severe grade on that side of the house sloping towards a pond, so using a ladder is impossible), but if that isn't realistic, I completely understand.
Thank you so much for your time!!