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.
Lilacs do come in seven colors, but most are familiar with the common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, which blooms in the northern states for 2 weeks in late May. 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.
Reader Comments
Leave a Comment
Diseased Lilac TREE
I live in Windsor Ontario Canada,I have two years old tree,had few bloom this year ,it was fine last year ,but as we know this summer was very hot and humid .its mid September but my Lilac tree's leaves look shrunken and dry ,and branches look dry and diseased(it has very small spots on it )I am confused ,is its weather change or some kind of disease or it my be the fertilizer which I was putting in my perineals beside this tree,so I sprayed a little bit in lilacs root too. I never took care of tree before.please guide me.thanks
Flagging Lilac
Hi Rona,
That sounds like a water-related issue. Insufficient water results in distorted and wilting leaves. As for the spots, sometimes when a plant is stressed it is susceptible to disease. It could be a foliar fungus but it is hard to say without seeing it. It’s unlikely fertilizer is to blame. Take a few cuttings of the leaves to a reputable nursery to see if they can identify the problem. And water regularly until late fall. Hopefully it will bounce back after the dormant season.
Pruning?
I purchased 15 lilac whips from our county conservation service here in Iowa.planted them in May of this year. They get lots of sun. They are still pretty much whips. They look like 3 foot trees. How do I get them to bush out?
Pruning Lilacs
Hi Judy,
It may be a year or two before they start sending up new growth–that will make them more shrub like. They are probably still getting rooted. In time, you can make some heading cuts to encourage growth, but I wouldn’t prune them this year. Give them time to get established.
problems with new lilac shrubs
My new lilac shrubs were ordered from a landscaper and planted by them. The look horrible, All of the leaves are getting brown spots, curling up and falling off. Can you let me know if this is normal, for being planted at this time of the year. There is definitely new growth happening, but they look very poor. They6 are White Japanese Lilacs..
Lilac Problems
Brown spots on lilacs may mean Lilac Bacterial Blight. This happens with plants that have been stressed by improper watering or lack of nutrients/fertilization. Be sure to avoid any overhead watering or wetting the foliage; water at soil level. Proper spacing and plenty of air circulation is also important. We would advise calling your landscapers.
blooms
I have two lilac bushes that are about ten years old, but I have never had a single bloom!
What can I do? thanks.
no bloom on the lilacs
Hmm. Have you checked off all of the criteria above: soil pH? compost/manure (note: with lime; also check pH), fertilizer (but not those with high nitrogen), SUN (it is very important that the plants get at least 6 hours of sun per day), water…? Are you pruning them? You could be cutting off the “old wood” that bears the flowers. Are the lilacs getting too much nitrogen? Have your soil analyzed (university coop extensions and other sources do this). Did you clear the ground around them, per above? Are they close to a lawn that you fertilize with, among other things, nitrogen? That can result in little/no bloom.
Then there is this: Try talking to it… But make sure everything else (above) is in order, too.
We hope this helps.
Dead lilac branch
Can a dean lilac branch develop black ants and do they bite?
Newly transplanted lilac struggling
I purchased a vitex lilac at a nursery here in houston Texas and after getting it home and planting it last weekend it's looking wilted and the leaves are getting brown spots. I really want it to make it. I have done some research and know it doesn't like too much water. What can I do??
Vitex lilac blight?
Transplanting puts some stress on just about any plant. Although many sources rave about this plant, it can be vulnerable to blight, Ashley. Have you contacted the nursery that you purchased it from? here some more on that: http://extension.oregonstate.edu/gardening/how-recognize-treat-and-avoid...
Here is more advice on the plant—but nothing on the spots. You could contact this Aggie coop extension and get specific advice: http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu/homehort/archives-of-weekly-articles-davids-pla...
We hope this helps.
Lilac bush
We planted a lilac bush last fall in an area with at least 6 hours of sun. We got beautiful purple blooms on them this spring, then all the blooms are gone and now nothing. What did I do wrong??
Faded colour
Thank you for the advice in this column.
Our beautiful old lilac has bloomed for longer than we have lived here, southern ontario, 40 years. This year the flowers, abundant, are a pale mauve rather than the vibrant dark of other years. Never happened before!...any suggestions?
Faded Color of Lilacs
You may have accidentally pruned off the scion root if your plant is grafted, or that part of the plant may have simply died, so the rootstock would now be producing the lighter variation of the flowers. Lilac color can also be affected by the acidity of the soil, so test the pH around the plant. The color will be more intense (the vibrant dark) with a higher pH, which you can achieve by liming. If the soil has become more acidic, this might have affected the change in color.
Lilac Bushes Too Tall
I have some old lilac bushes that I have, for the last two years, cut off the individual flowers last year and it is now growing like stink! Not stinky, because it produced beautiful flowers this year.
But it is too tall.
Can I simply cut all the branches down by two feet and still get blossoms next year? The flowers are just ending now.
transplant lilac tree saplings
My Mother has a lilac tree & my Nana has lilac bushes. I see sprouts popping up away from the actual plant, are they attached to the same root system or can I snatch them up and transplant them in my yard? (Both are well established, tree is 40+ years old, bushes are 20 years old)
Best time to plant suckers is
Best time to plant suckers is before buds emerge in the spring or after the leaves have dropped from the shrub in fall. Find a sucker ideally 2 to 3 foot tall. With a spade dig down around the sucker. You’ll find a connecting root leading back to the main stem. Cut this root off just outside of the sucker’s root ball. Remove the sucker with as many roots as possible and plant it in a big pot with potting soil or directly in the ground. Water well.
Lilacs do not leaf out
I live in Utah. I have several Miss Kim lilacs that are about 10 years old. For the past few years, they have been having fewer and fewer leaves. They are all heavily blossoming this spring, but only one has many leaves. The one with the most blossoms has the fewest leaves. What can I do? The lilacs in another part of the yard are growing well and leafy.
I live in South Eastern part
I live in South Eastern part of Colorado..I just wondering what's best lilac shrub or tree to get?
Deadheading?
Err moved into our new home last year and there are three well established lilac trees but I don't know how old they are. I see tips on pruning, but do the dead blooms need to be cut also? It didn't look like it had been done before we moved in, and they bloomed fine this year.
Hi Rena,
Hi Rena,
It helps the tree to remove the dead blooms every year. When you remove the blooms the tree doesn’t need to use its energy to produce seeds. The faded blooms are easy to snap off.
I have shrub lilacs that do
I have shrub lilacs that do not bloom, about 5 years old. They are shaded and don't get 6 hours of sunlight daily. I would like to move them. Do they have a large root? Or could I cut them down and try to grow new plants from the suckers? I'm not sure how to do that. Do I pull the suckers up and hope to get some roots? Thanks
Lilacs
How do the roots grow? How far away should I keep it away from my septic? Thank you
Lilac roots are shallow and
Lilac roots are shallow and spread about one and half times the width of the bush. If you plant the lilac about 8 feet from your septic system you should be OK.
Miss Kim didn't make it
I live in the Chicago suburbs. We bought a Miss Kim at a nursery last May and planted it with the soil that they suggested. We followed all directions with the hole size etc.. After planting we had a very heavy rain. It is in full sun. We bought a moisture tester and I tested every week 4 to 6 inches down, and even further, and it always showed that it was wet (for weeks). Basically, the rain we received last spring allowed us to never have to water. When the blooms dried out, I cut them off. In Midsummer all the leaves shriveled up and turned brown. We also planted two hydrangeas nearby and they did the same thing. Now this spring, all three plants or dried up and just sticks. My hydrangeas are growing new leaves at the base of the plant as well as a couple teeny leaves coming out of the branches. However my lilacs show no sign of greenery, leaves, or any other growth. I scraped on a few branches and found no green. I am assuming it's dead, but I'm fearful of planting another lilac in this location. Should I leave it in the ground and wait to see? Do you think it was just the rain that flooded it out right after planting, and I should take another chance? This is the only area in my small yard for a lilac. As I noted, it does get full sun all day in this location. I really don't know what to do, as I have always loved lilacs, and really want to have one. Is there maybe a better, hardier type of lilac I could plant, and should I wait until fall to plant a new one, versus the spring? Do the nurseries even sell them in the fall? Thanks so much for your help
Our guess is that the heavy
Our guess is that the heavy rain and wet soil killed your lilac. Please see our planting and care sections at the top of this page. You may need to amend the soil with organic matter (compost or aged manure) to make it drain better. Lilacs can be planted in the spring or fall. See link below for some lilac varieties to grow in your region.
www.chicagobotanic.org/plantinfo/lilacs
Missing my lilacs!
I am a transplanted Michigander to the Ocala area of mid Florida. I'm missing my lilacs to the point that I am planning on visiting family in mid October and I'm going to return to Florida with a couple of Lilacs. I need your assistance on picking the shrubs with the most chance of thriving. What do you think?
lilacs in Florida
There’s no point in bringing flowers that thrive in Michigan to Florida. They probably will not survive the heat and they need a winter.
Florida is not really lilac country, from what we have come to understand. However, there are some cultivars that tolerate condition in Alabama … and maybe they would grow for you. Look for S. x hyacinthiflora ‘Betsy Ross’ and ‘Old Glory.’
Other alternatives —remember these may not be exactly like what grows in Michigan—could be cutleaf lilac and Syringa patula, aka Miss Kim and Manchurian lilac.
Google to find sources and other advice on them.
Lilacs in buried pots
I live in Minnesota and was wondering if it is possible to grow Yankee Doodles and Sensation lilacs in 24" pots (25 gallons) buried in holes in the ground? My interest is to limit the growth to about 3-4 ft wide and limit the roots from spreading into the lawn. Would it be helpful to cut 6" diameter holes on the pot wall towards the bottom of the pot to allow for the roots to spread? Is this idea feasible at all? Thank you
We have no experience in
We have no experience in growing lilacs in buried pots but suspect that they will do fine. Just make sure that there are holes in the pot for drainage.
Pages