My crape myrtles have probably never been properly pruned and when I pruned them last year I raked all the twigs from the trunk with my hands and leather gloves. It appears that they pretty much came back. I am trying to figure out how to prune them so that the trunks are not full of new growth after this years pruning. Some-one told me that the phase of the moon was the key to not having this happen. Can you please help me on this. Thanks

Answer #1 · Brent Wilson's Answer · I'm not an expert on gardening by the moon phases but do know that during the "waning" phase of the moon that plants aren't absorbing as much water. So this would be the time to prune to retard growth. The waning phase occurs between the full moon and the new moon. Then there's the "waxing" phase of moon, which refers to the period between the new moon and the full moon. The twiggy growth on the trunks of your crape Myrtle can be removed any time during the year. If you want to try removing the twiggy growth during the waxing phase of the moon, it would make sense to me to do so when the tree has leaves. During the dormant stage the tree is not actively growing so pruning according to moon phase might not work. I checked a lunar calendar for 2012 and between May 6 to May 12 would be the first waning phase when the crape myrtles would have foliage on them. If you try this, let me know if it worked. Good luck.

I uploaded an image of the 2012 Moon Phase Calendar for the months January through June)