Is it acceptable to trim big limbs off crape myrtles, peaches, plums and figs?
Partly yes, partly no. Ideally, you will not do much pruning to figs. You need to plant them where they will have ample room to grow and develop, then you should leave them alone. If you prune figs very much you will get strong vegetative regrowth at the expense of flowering and fruiting. Basically, the same thing applies to crape myrtles. You should never use pruning as a means of height control. In fact, crape myrtle experts will tell you that topping crape myrtles is the single worst thing that gardeners do to their plants. Choose a variety that grows to the height you want, then leave it alone. Of course, with both figs and crape myrtles, you can remove errant branches that ruin the plants’ natural forms. Finally, peaches and plums should be pruned in January or early February every year to remove strongly vertical shoots. Your goal with them is to have bowl-shaped trees that are 14 to 16 feet wide but only 8 or 10 feet tall. That allows the sun to reach the ripening fruit, and it
