Crape Murder

I’m not trying to pin this murder on anyone specific. But I would like to point out to those of you new to Florida that this is yet another case of senseless ‘crape murder.’ And it occurred here in Manatee County!

This is also a perfect opportunity for those of you more knowlegable, to remind others that this practice, also known as topping or hat-racking,  must stop. We can forgive them once, since they don't know any better, but don’t let it happen again.

Your honor, I’d like to enter into evidence a UF (University of Florida) publication called ‘Crapemyrtle Pruning’ (http://bit.ly/fWG41t). It was written by not 1, but 2 experts. Dr. Gary Knox, and Dr Ed Gilman are both professors of horticulture. Each of them has decades of experience researching and solving problems in the Florida landscape.

While there are occasionally good reasons to prune crapes (the publication talks about them) this document states clearly that…

“Properly placed, crapemyrtle is a low-maintenance plant needing little or no pruning.”

So, even if you’re new to Florida, there is no longer any defense. The facts in this matter have been well known for years. Enough is enough.

I rest my case.