Who doesn’t love lilacs? The ideal lilac shrub has about 10 canes and produces flowers at eye-level—all the better to enjoy that sweet, haunting fragrance. Learn how to take care of lilacs as well as prune at the right time.
About Lilacs
The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, blooms in the northern states for 2 weeks from mid- to late spring. However, there are early-, mid-, and late-season lilacs, which, when grown together, ensure a steady bloom for at least 6 weeks.
Lilacs are hardy, easy to grow, and low maintenance. They can grow from 5 to 15 feet tall, depending on the variety. The fragrant flowers are good for cutting and attractive to butterflies.
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Lilacs
I moved from Pennsylvania to southern California nine years ago. Our new home has 6 Lilacs near a fence which are blooming just fabulous at this writing. Mid April. I've been reading about the proper care of Lilacs. By the way, You Tube would be some good learning if you need, watch the videos, they are well worth it. Anyway, last season after reading and watching the videos, I went about pruning. I did some rather drastic pruning way at the top (some plants are about 15 feet high). I also removed some suckers way at the bottom and sawed off some obvious branches that needed to be trimmed. So. . . this season came about and I was rewarded with some very fragrant and beautiful blooms. Moral of the story? Listen and read and learn from other writings here on this page. You will learn much and maybe your situation will help others. It's the OFA way!
Lilac
Mine is 4 years old and has never bloomed. Help
Lilac bush
Bush is 2 years old and has started to but but all buds turned brown is it dying
https://gardenexpertdesign.com
I love these charmingly wonderful flowers! Especially their flavor.
To Deborah about Lilac disease
I have the same issue and I believe it could be Peach curl fungus. It affects a wild peach tree on my place, and my lilacs have it as well. I have yet to spray for it, but I believe if you look it up, you may find it to be the case.
Lilac
My mom had a huge lilac bush and it started reproducing she dug one of its “babies” and it just won’t bloom. It’s been like 4 years now with nothing. Could someone please tell me why or tips to help it bloom
Dewarf Lilac Bush
I have the bust about 2 yes , it started to bloom this year, it's lovely, but its a bit unsteady, any tips on how to make it more stable as it grows? Thank You.
Lilac Blooms
I know everything I've ever read says that lilacs bloom on old wood because they form "this year's blooms during last fall". However I beg to differ! I have a yellow lilac which is the Primrose and 7 out of 10 blooms on it, are on this year's new growth. I can't explain it. Can someone explain this to me??
Thank you!
lilac disease
Help! I have many different varieties of Lilacs living in Eastern Washington. I have a disease that results in stunted growth of the leaves, looking a bit curled, and doesn't initially affect the entire bush. It started with one lilac and after applying systemic treatment for a couple of years and removing the affected branches, I finally lost and removed the entire thing. Now I see a few of my other lilacs (and now, a few other species, like a rose and maple tree!) appear to have similar symptoms. None of my local nurseries can answer my questions, although I am now trying a new systemic and at one nursery suggestion, a new fertilizer as her thought was I was "starving" the plant. Does this sound familiar? Can you help with a potential solution? Thank you so much.
Lilac buds opening in fall
Hello I got a lilac bush that I transplanted 4 years ago and it bloomed good last year and I noticed it made new buds in July and in late September the buds broke open and the flower buds for this spring has opened and froze so what caused this and what can I do to prevent this from happening again?
preventing bud freeze
You need to protect the lilac from early or late-season freezes by covering them. You can use plastic, or bed sheeting, burlap, tarps, or whatever is large enough BUT you have to keep the covering from touching the lilac. Contact with the cover means contact with the freeze, so avoid contact. Use frame (often homemade) or stakes or, for example, a ladder and drape the cover over the plant. Clothes pins will sometimes hold the cover in place. You should not need to leave the cover on if no freeze is forecast.
New bushes
I got a new, small, bush last year(miss Kim) and a mouse or mole routed through the roots leaving it the appearance of being dead. We planted what was left again with little hope but it did start putting out leaves about half way through the summer. Since we believed it was dead we got another Miss Kim and it seems quite healthy but I am not sure if we should be wrapping it for winter or if that would encourage a mouse or whatever to move in again or if lilacs even need/want to be protected like that? Help for a newbie to lilacs?
Lilac bush
I have a very old lilac bush my mothers she got it from my grandmother well it has something on its trunk blueish green scales and dying what can I do to save it and the leaves are powdery
Lilac bush won't grow
I bought a lilac bush at a fair about 7 years ago. I
t was about 4 feet tall. My son planted in a sunny place that gets sun all day. It is healthy and gets very small blooms every year but looks like it hasn't grown an inch since it was planted. Our town is known for lilac's and they grow all over town. I don't understand why mine won't grow.
4 foot tall lilac
It’s possible it’s a miniature variety. Are leaves 3 inches or about 1 inch. If no longer than approx 1 inch. It’s a miniature variety
My lilac is not blooming and not growing like I think it should.
My lilac is about 5 years old and has never bloomed and although it has grown, not as it should have. I would say it is about 3 to 4 foot high for a 5 year old bush. I planted it where i had removed an above ground pool and was wondering if the sand that was used to level the pool on installation could be the reason. I don't see any sand, so it has worked it's way into the dirt. Any suggestions?
Yellowing leaves and sparse
I am trying to find out what is going on with my old fashion lilac. I started it from a sapling about 15 years. It has four off shoots that are probably 10 years old. This year the flowers again where huge and gorgeous. But I have now noticed the density of the leaves is really sparse they are yellowing with some brown spots. I don't know what to do.
Lilac leaves have brown spots
Just planted in spring but now leaves have brown spots - help
seedlings
I planted seedlings 3 yrs ago, some are 6' tall and some 3' tall, I haven't pruned them yet and haven't had any flowers yet, should I prune them back a little will that help?
Thank you
Frank
no flowers...
Are you fertilizing these plants? Too much nitrogen will favor leaf formation over flowers. Do not fertilize. They do like soil with a pH of 6.0 to 7.5, though. Do a soil test—even a simple one—and see if the pH is within the range.
Lilac bush
My lilac bush is tall and skinny. It looks super healthy and blooms beautifully but I don't know how to get it to bush out. All the lilacs I have ever seen get nice and round and full....Mine looks like a pole... what do I do?
how to make a lilac spread
As you suggest, this is not usually a problem. So the solution provided by the Cornell U coop extension may seem like an odd answer but here goes: prune it. (Have you ever prune it?) Specifically, the coop ext says, You can prune overgrown lilacs (if relatively healthy) down to the base of the plant in late winter/early spring. This action will force new vigorous growth and put you back on the road to having a beautiful, properly proportioned shrub. Blooms may be sacrificed for two to three years while the shrub is reestablishing itself. Once rejuvenated, maintenance pruning should be performed on an annual basis.
This sounds severe, but promising, if you can wait for the regrowth. You might also consult the nursery you purchased it from (or any nursery) to see what they recommend.
Lilac Roots and Leach Lines
Will lilac roots damage the leach lines from my septic tank? If so, how far from them do I have to plant the lilac to keep the roots away?
Thank you
lilac to leach lines
There are some general standards re distance; lilacs that 8 to 10 feet from water and sewer lines should be fine.
Lilac roots will probably not break intact pipes, but they could be drawn to pipes that leak.
For more information you could contact your town inspector or a nursery person.
lilacs vs morning glories
can I plant a lilac bush close by morning glories or with the roots bother the lilac bush
Morning Glories
Morning glory roots shouldn’t be an issue for lilacs, since the lilac roots will reach much deeper than the morning glories. Plus, morning glories are annuals, meaning they die back at the end of the growing season and will no longer be a competitor to the lilac.
lilac suckers
I am putting a bed of rocks near a thriving lilac bush. I do not want the suckers to come up under, through the ground cover and into my bed of rocks. How deep would I have to bury a barrier? 6-8 inches deep enough? Or is there any way to keep the suckers controlled and in a confined area? If I cut suckers off each year, to keep in a confined area, will they continue to spread out farther?
root barrier
Hopefully someone can share a little insight. I've planted several lilacs along my back fence. I was in a quandary as to what to do regarding the invasive ground cover sneaking under the fence from my neighbors yard. I have attempted to pull it out , but presume that it will return repeatedly. Consequently I chose to plant each of my five lilacs in a circular barrier made from half a large trash barrel. The barrels are approximately 22 in in diameter and fourteen to sixteen inches in height. The hope is to allow the lilacs roots to grow below the barrier and spread as the plant matures while keeping the invasive ground cover with more shallow roots separate. Hopefully I'm not confining the lilac roots if they tend to grow more shallowly themselves. Any thoughts out there?
lilac in a bucket
Almost everything works for a while. You are removing the bottom from the barrels, right? If you do not, you will confine the lilac roots and eventually they will cease to thrive (we’re guessing that would happen before the barrels break down to release the roots). And you’re setting the barrels deep enough to have the rim at ground level? Or are the barrels going to be above ground, shielding 14 to 16 inches of lilac trunk?
You do not name the ground cover but you are probably correct in expecting it to return, despite your pulling it out. (There is a saying about ground covers: the first year it sleeps, the second year it creeps, the third year it leaps.) If the barrels are aboveground (not sunk to the rim) the ground cover roots could eventually make their way past the barrel barrier. Could you sink edging between you and your neighbor? A healthy lilac will send out suckers, too. Whether these appear within the perimeter of your barriers or reach from the depths and “pop up” outside of the barrier remains to be seen.
Another thought is to mulch the lilacs. A thick (3 to 4 inch) layer should help to deter or slow down the ground cover.
Hope something here helps.
The idea of sinking a barrier
The idea of sinking a barrier between yards is a great, I'm going to try this too!
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