Crepe myrtle - dead trunks - Ask Extension
I’m reaching out for expert guidance regarding a crepe myrtle on our property in Odenton, MD. Several of the main trunks appear to be completely ...
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Crepe myrtle - dead trunks #910941
Asked July 22, 2025, 6:38 PM EDT
I’m reaching out for expert guidance regarding a crepe myrtle on our property in Odenton, MD. Several of the main trunks appear to be completely dead, while others are still living and producing growth. You can see the dead limbs on the right side of the image.
I’d appreciate your help with the following questions:
Cause: What are the most common reasons for multiple trunks of a crepe myrtle dying while others remain healthy?
Health Assessment: Based on this symptom, how likely is it that the tree is seriously ill or in decline?
Treatment: Are there any steps I should take to help the remaining live parts of the tree recover or strengthen?
Pruning Advice:
Should I remove the dead trunks and limbs now, or is there a preferred time?
Should pruning be limited to obviously dead wood, or is it advisable to cut back into living tissue?
How can I best distinguish dead wood from live in this tree?
Thank you for any help and insight. Rob
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
Our crepe myrtle on our property in Odenton, MD has several dead main trunks, while others are still living and producing growth. You can see the dead limbs on the right side of the images. hat are the most common reasons for multiple trunks of a crepe myrtle dying while others remain healthy? Based on this symptom, how likely is it that the tree is seriously ill or in decline? Are there any steps I should take to help the remaining live parts of the tree recover or strengthen? Pruning Advice- Should I remove the dead trunks and limbs now, or is there a preferred time? Should pruning be limited to obviously dead wood, or is it advisable to cut back into living tissue? How can I best distinguish dead wood from live in this tree? Thank you for any help and insight.
Dieback was a fairly common occurrence on a variety of mature, hardy plants this past winter, including crapemyrtles. It's hard to determine an exact cause so long after the fact, but it's likely tied to last year's significant drought and opportunistic infections like Botryosphaeria canker. (The focus of the linked page is on Rhododendron, a common victim of that fungus, but it can infect a wide variety of trees and shrubs when they are injured or stressed.)
Dead wood can be pruned off any time; ideally, it should be removed as soon as it's evident, which in this case would have been around late spring or early summer, but it's fine to do the pruning now. You will need a pruning saw to cut branches larger than pruners or loppers can handle (often no more than about 1.25 or so diameter wood). Wood that has live branches or foliage attached to it is alive; above that point when no more growth appears is dead. One way to check this is the "scratch test," where you can look for live cambium (this is the sap wood that sits just underneath the bark). It's normal for all heartwood (innermost layers of wood in a trunk or branches) to be dead tissue, as that is how the wood matures naturally. Live sapwood is usually green; dead will be dry and pale (brownish-white or grayish or just brown, often). The linked short video may help to explain what you're looking for when lightly scraping away the bark to look at the cambium.
You can also use the proper pruning cuts guidance in our tree pruning page to learn where to make a cut if you need to remove a whole branch attached to the trunk (or attached to another branch). A very short stub needs to be left so the wound can seal-over (don't make the cut flush with the trunk), but too long of a stub will not seal properly and could encourage wood decay problems.
If you are not certain how to prune, or are worried about pruning incorrectly, you could hire a certified arborist or licensed tree expert to prune out all the dead wood for you. Pruning out live growth is probably not necessary, but it could be done if what branches are left after the dead wood is removed are too awkwardly shaped or crowded, where thinning some stems out will improve the health of what remains. This is something a professional can provide guidance on, or do themselves for you.
Significant dieback is something most crapemyrtles (as long as their root system is still healthy) can recover from, though depending on how much growth was lost, it might take a few years for them to regain their former size. Generally, the larger the variety matures, the faster its pace of growth.
You do not need to speed-up the process with any type of stimulant, and fertilizing is not only unnecessary (especially if you fertilize any lawn around the tree at least once a year), but over-nourishing the tree might backfire and cause it to be more vulnerable to pest or disease problems. Let it regrow at its own pace. If we experience periods of drought again, you can monitor it for watering needs using guidance on the linked page. So far this year, much of Maryland has had sufficient rainfall.
Miri
Dead wood can be pruned off any time; ideally, it should be removed as soon as it's evident, which in this case would have been around late spring or early summer, but it's fine to do the pruning now. You will need a pruning saw to cut branches larger than pruners or loppers can handle (often no more than about 1.25 or so diameter wood). Wood that has live branches or foliage attached to it is alive; above that point when no more growth appears is dead. One way to check this is the "scratch test," where you can look for live cambium (this is the sap wood that sits just underneath the bark). It's normal for all heartwood (innermost layers of wood in a trunk or branches) to be dead tissue, as that is how the wood matures naturally. Live sapwood is usually green; dead will be dry and pale (brownish-white or grayish or just brown, often). The linked short video may help to explain what you're looking for when lightly scraping away the bark to look at the cambium.
You can also use the proper pruning cuts guidance in our tree pruning page to learn where to make a cut if you need to remove a whole branch attached to the trunk (or attached to another branch). A very short stub needs to be left so the wound can seal-over (don't make the cut flush with the trunk), but too long of a stub will not seal properly and could encourage wood decay problems.
If you are not certain how to prune, or are worried about pruning incorrectly, you could hire a certified arborist or licensed tree expert to prune out all the dead wood for you. Pruning out live growth is probably not necessary, but it could be done if what branches are left after the dead wood is removed are too awkwardly shaped or crowded, where thinning some stems out will improve the health of what remains. This is something a professional can provide guidance on, or do themselves for you.
Significant dieback is something most crapemyrtles (as long as their root system is still healthy) can recover from, though depending on how much growth was lost, it might take a few years for them to regain their former size. Generally, the larger the variety matures, the faster its pace of growth.
You do not need to speed-up the process with any type of stimulant, and fertilizing is not only unnecessary (especially if you fertilize any lawn around the tree at least once a year), but over-nourishing the tree might backfire and cause it to be more vulnerable to pest or disease problems. Let it regrow at its own pace. If we experience periods of drought again, you can monitor it for watering needs using guidance on the linked page. So far this year, much of Maryland has had sufficient rainfall.
Miri
