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Planting and Growing Lilac Bushes

purple Yankee Doodle Lilac flowers

Huge blooms, wonderful scent.

Image Credit:
Wally Patrick
Botanical Name
Syringa spp.
Grown as
Perennial
USDA Zones
3a
3b
4a
4b
5a
5b
6a
6b
7b
Toxicity
Non-toxic
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Partial Sun
Water Needs
Moderate
Height
6-10 feet
Spread
6-10 feet
Soil pH
Neutral
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Flower Color
Blue
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Yellow
Special Features
Container-Friendly
Cut Flower
Fragrant
Attracts Butterflies
Attracts Hummingbirds
Attracts Pollinators
Deer-resistant
Rabbit-resistant
Resilience
Cold Hardy
Drought-Tolerant
Plant Type
Shrubs and Bushes
Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Lilacs truly smell like spring! Lilacs are among the most carefree spring-flowering shrubs and provide a sweet, haunting fragrance, too! Learn how to plant, grow, and prune your lilacs.

Lilacs, said to symbolize the joy of youth and associated with spring’s awakening, are hardy, easy to grow, and low-maintenance. Although they can reach heights of 5 to 15 feet (or more), depending on the variety, the ideal lilac shrub produces flowers at eye level—all the better for enjoying their sweet fragrance.

The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is well loved for its toughness, reliability, and fragrance. In fact, lilacs are so tough that they can grow for 100+ years, often outliving the homes they were planted around. The fragrant flowers are good for cutting and are attractive to butterflies.

While the blooms are usually lilac/purple in color (from very pale to very dark), there are also lilac varieties in white and cream and even pink and yellow. Individual flowers can be single or double.

In northern states, lilacs bloom for about 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.

Planting

When to Plant Lilacs

  • Like most shrubs, lilacs can be planted in either spring or fall, although the latter is preferred.

Where to Plant Lilacs

Lilacs thrive in fertile, humus-rich, well-draining, neutral to alkaline soil (at a pH near 7.0). If your soil is in poor condition, mix in compost to enrich it. (Learn more about soil amendments and preparing the soil for planting.) Choose or prepare a site that drains well. Poor drainage or pooling water can cause “wet feet,” potentially leading to root rot, stunted growth, and/or failure to flower. Test soil drainage by digging a hole 8 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. Fill it with water; if it does not drain within an hour, choose another spot.

For the best blooms, lilacs should be planted in full sun, which is defined as at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. Given less, they will not flower as well. 

How to Plant Lilacs

  • If you’re lucky, a friend will give you a sucker, or offshoot, of the root system of one of their plants. The sucker will look pathetic at first, but dig a hole, backfill it with soil, and stick the sucker in. Then, water and wait. In 4 or 5 years, you’ll be rewarded with huge, fragrant blossoms.
  • Transplanting nursery-bought lilacs is also easy. If it’s container-grown, spread out the roots as you settle the plant into the ground; if it’s balled or burlapped, gently remove the covering and any rope before planting. Set the plant 2 or 3 inches deeper than it grew in the nursery and work topsoil in around the roots—then water in. Then, fill in the hole with more topsoil.
  • Space multiple lilac bushes 5 to 15 feet apart, depending on the variety.

Growing

  • Each spring, apply a layer of compost under the plant, followed by mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
  • Water during the summer if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week.
  • Lilacs won’t bloom if they’re overfertilized. They can handle a handful of 10-10-10 in late winter, but no more.
  • After your lilac bush has finished blooming, spread some lime and well-rotted manure around the base. Trim the bush to shape it and remove suckers at the same time.

How to Prune Lilacs

  • Lilacs bloom on old wood, so it’s critical to prune in the spring right after they bloom. If you prune later in the summer, you may be removing the wood. Note: If your lilac flower clusters are getting smaller over a few years, it’s time to prune!
  • Every year after bloom, remove any dead wood. Prune out the oldest canes (down to the ground). Remove the small suckers. Cut back weak branches to a strong shoot. Cut back tall canes to eye height.
  • The ideal lilac shrub has about 10 canes. If your lilac is old and in really bad shape, remove one-third of the oldest canes (down to the ground) in year 1, half of the remaining old wood in year 2, and the rest of the old wood in year 3. Another option for old lilacs is to chop the whole thing back to about 6 or 8 inches high. It sounds drastic, but lilacs are very hardy. The downside to this option is that it takes a few years to grow back. The upside is less work and more reward, as the lilac will grow back, bursting with blooms.
  • It must be recognized that severe pruning results in the loss of blooms for 1 to 3 years. For these reasons, a wise pruning program aims to avoid severe and drastic cuts by giving the bushes annual attention.
  • Good Sucker Sense: Gertrude Jekyll, the 19th-century no-nonsense English horticulturist (1843–1932), advocated a strenuous exercise: “When taking away suckers … it is better to tear them out than to cut them off. A cut, however close, leaves a base from which they may always spring again, but if pulled or wrenched out, they bring away with them the swollen base.”

Pests and Problems

  • Prone to attack by slugs and snails.
  • Powdery white mildew may appear after a summer of hot, humid weather. It may be unsightly, but it does no harm. Ignore it.

Types

For early flowers, try Syringa x hyacinthiflora hybrids; they bloom 7 to 10 days before S. vulgaris. Its fragrant blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The most common and fragrant lilacs are of the S. vulgaris variety:

  • Try ‘Charles Joly’, a double magenta flower, an early bloomer.
  • Mid-season lilacs include ‘Monge’, a dark reddish purple, and ‘Firmament’, a fine blue.
  • Late-season beauties include ‘Miss Canada’, a reddish-pink, and ‘Donald Wyman’, a pink-purple flower.

Uncommon types/varieties include … 

  • S. x ‘Penda’ Bloomerang Purple: flowers in spring, pauses, then flowers again from midsummer through fall.
  • Although common lilacs love cold weather, a few thrive as far south as Zone 8, including cutleaf hybrid S. x laciniata, with fragrant, pale lavender flowers, and S. pubescens ssp. patula ‘Miss Kim,’ with pale, lilac-blue blooms that fade to white.

Small Lilacs
For gardeners, especially those in urban spaces, who just don’t have the room for the traditional larger lilac, there are compact varieties! They’ll even grow in a container on your patio or balcony.

  • ‘Baby Kim’ grows only 2 to 3 feet high (and 3 feet wide) in a nicely rounded shape with purple flowers that attract butterflies. Extended hardiness from Zones 3 to 8.
  • ‘Little Lady’ (S. x) is a compact lilac that matures to 4 to 5 feet tall and wide with dark pink buds that open to lilac-pink flowers. Hardy in Zones 2 to 7.
  • ‘New Age Lavender’ and ‘New Age White’ (S. vulgaris) are super-compact, growing from 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, and bred for mildew resistance. Their fragrant flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Hardy to Zone 4.

See more lilac varieties!

Wit and Wisdom

  • To improve the flowering of lilacs, keep the grass from growing around them. A 16- to 24-inch circle of landscape cloth placed around the bushes and covered with bark or stone will keep the grass down.
  • Force a winter bouquet from cut branches of lilac. Bruise the cut ends and set them in water. Spray the branches frequently. Keep them in a cool place until they bloom, then move to a warmer area for display.
  • Poet Walt Whitman thought of lilacs when Abraham Lincoln died: 
    ”When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d … I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.”
  • Lilacs supposedly symbolize the joy of youth. Learn about more flower symbolism here.
  • The lilac belongs to the olive family, Oleaceae.
  • Lilacs are the state flower of New Hampshire.

Shrubs and Trees

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/12/2013 - 15:38

Summer is not a good time to plant a lilac. It may be in transplant shock which is why it is wilting. The best you can do to save it is to keep it well-watered and closely monitor its soil moisture. Make sure the root ball and surrounding soil isn't dried out. Water deeply, then let the surface dry between the next (deep) watering. Also, while compost in the hole is a good idea, we would not advise putting fertilizer in the hole itself; this can cause root burn. You may want to bring back your receipt to the nursury if you have a guarantee.

 <span>Thewizardtim</span> Mon, 07/08/2013 - 11:49
Need some advice! Hope I did not just kill our Lilac bushes. I believe they are Miss Kim / Manchurian Lilac based on pictures I've seen. I had previously gotten advice and seen tips online on how to prune when they get too big. Ours were about 8' tall, had finished blooming a few weeks ago, and have started to sprout a lot of extra shoots and leggy branches in recent years, despite trying to cut those away at the base. Basically only the top 15" or so of the plants were producing leaves (but did bloom very well the last couple years). I was told I could do a "10 year pruning" where I leave the biggest, healthiest trunks intact but cut them back by 1/2 to 2/3 (not all the way to the ground - more like 2-3 feet with the taller cuts in the middle of the plant), with the idea that the cut-back trunks will produce new spouts this summer, that can then start thickening / growing next spring and summer and hopefully blooms the following year. Now I'm reading people recommend you do it in winter, and 6-8 INCHES off the ground! Which is it? Did I just kill our lilacs because I cut them in summer? Also I didn't disinfect the shears... we don't have any diseased plants on our property so didn't think it necessary. Should I tar-cap the exposed trunks on the tops? Main reason I cut them back is they were covering our windows and to the point I needed a ladder to prune the tops of the bushes (which still seem to add another 6" every year despite pruning / thinning. Was trying to "reshape / reset" the plant so the good stems that would contribute to a more rounded form (not sticking out at odd angles), would regenerate leafy growth and eventually flowers in a couple years. What should I do now... put a hose at the base of the plant for 5-10 minutes each week maybe?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 07/10/2013 - 09:54
Miss Kim's do have a tendency to outgrow their space. For lilacs, the most important rule is timing. Prune soon after flowering -- not in late summer nor winter nor early spring -- or you remove their buds and blooms. Also remove all dead limbs. You can also rejuvenate older lilacs by completely cutting all stems down to 4 to 6 inch stubs, generally in February and March. However, some readers have found that the Miss Kims do not respond well to this method (unlike the old-fashioned lilacs). Miss Kims seem to prefer regular pruning--starting early in their life--before they get out of control.
<span>Nancy Freiling</span> Sat, 07/06/2013 - 11:46
Hi. I got 2 Lilacs from Lowes on clearance on July 3rd. (royalty and james mcfarland) Should I plant them in the ground or put them in a big container until fall? We live in Northern Virginia.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/09/2013 - 17:18
Plant the lilacs in containers big enough for the roots to grow. Mix a bit of compost into the potting mix. Place the containers in semi-shade and make sure to keep the soil moist. In late summer or fall plant them in the ground.
<span>L.postma</span> Mon, 07/01/2013 - 13:11
We live in Cascade, ID - about 5,000 ft. I have 4 lilacs that have always been beautiful, until this year. It looks like they set the blooms, but never did anything. Any suggestions
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/02/2013 - 14:16
Have you had enough sunshine this year vs. cloud and rain? Usually, insufficient sunlight is the problem. Did you prune at the right time last season (not spring, but mid-summer well after bloom)? Also, avoid using fertilizers high in nitrogen.
<span>Lilaclane</span> Sat, 06/29/2013 - 16:15
About 4 years ago, my husband gave me a lilac bush for my birthday. It was purchased from a local horticultural services business. We planted it in the late spring - following the directions which came with the bush. However, while the leaves are green and it has grown a little bit (maybe half again as tall as it was when we bought it), it has never bloomed. There have never even been any buds. I'm wondering if there is anything that can be done to encourage my little bush to bloom?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 07/01/2013 - 10:05
We're guessing that the most likely cause in your case for no blossoms would be that the bush is still too young to flower. Some lilacs may take up to 5 or 7 years to start blooming. Although you have followed the directions which came with the bush, it might be good to double-check that the plant is still getting at least 6 hours of sunlight (has other growing vegetation started to shade your bush?), and that the soil is slightly acidic to slightly alkaline (pH 6.0 to 7.5). A fertilizer high in nitrogen promotes leaf growth over blossoms; if you need to fertilize, choose one whose N-P-K ratios are about even, and only apply a small amount; lilacs don't do as well in rich soil. Also, make sure that the plant is getting enough water (about an inch per week).
<span>Charlie Trevech</span> Thu, 06/27/2013 - 08:35
I live in Manitoba and winters are harsh. Have 2 Miss KIm, They are doing really good. 2 are outside my bedroom window, and are so very fragrant. Was thinking about getting a couple of suckers and transplant. But was not sure how to do it. I now have the info. Thanks a bunch.