Oh no!!! The crape murder and pine that are described in this cache description have been removed! I hope they got a proper funeral!
This cache is the 6th in a series of caches that I am placing for the students in my OSU arboriculture (tree care) class and anybody else who is interested. I hope that the students will use these caches to go out and see some of the concepts that we discuss in class. In this case, they hear about improper pruning of crape myrtles in more than one class.
Across the street east of this cache are several crape myrtles that are improperly pruned most years. It is easier to see in the winter when there are no leaves. The plants have large diameter (for a crape myrtle in Oklahoma) stems that come up from the ground. After they are pruned, all you see are the large stems until new growth begins for the year. Then lots of buds break and form weakly attached small shoots at the top of each of the larger stems. This pruning method exposes the plants to greater chances of disease problems and also shortens the life of the plants.
While looking across the street, also notice the pine tree that has been pruned to avoid interference with the utility lines. The top has been cut off, and the lower limbs have been removed to make it easier to mow under the canopy of the tree. This poor misshapen tree has had a hard life.
This cache was placed with permission of Dr. Mark Toews.
Congratulations to Peacefrog77 for FTF!