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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

<span>Anonymous</span> Tue, 08/07/2012 - 08:24
I planted lilac 10yrs.ago grows great.this July started wilting in spots now those leaves are brown,should i cut the branches down? live in new jersey had alot of high temps in july also same thing happen this time last year.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 08/09/2012 - 15:56
Hot weather can cause brown leaves. Water the lilac deeply once a week and add 1/2 cup of lime around the base of the tree to sweeten the soil.You can prune some of the old branches. This will encourage new growth.
<span>Anonymous</span> Tue, 08/07/2012 - 18:57
I too have the same brown leaf issue in coastal South Carolina. My lilacs are not in the ground. They are in a large jack daniels barrel and though some of the older canes have a few wilted leaves, the plant is still sprouting new canes and the old canes show new leaf buds. My parents brought these lilacs from Bucks County, Pa to Richmond, Va in the late 70's and I brought some to South Carolina when I moved from Richmond. Excited about new canes but not sure what to do (if anything) about the wilting. Been humid, hot, and lots of summer storms here this season. I'm going to try to pull the barrel under the porch during next few rains to try to dry the moisture-heavy soil a bit and just put it out in full sun when not raining. Should I cut old canes or just let it roll?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 08/09/2012 - 15:49
In wet weather lilacs get a fungal disease that causes the leaves to wilt and turn brown. The lilac will recover from this when the weather improves. Let the soil dry out. You may want to prune some of the old canes to encourage new growth.
<span>Anonymous</span> Mon, 08/06/2012 - 14:40
The lilacs along my back fence were full of blooms in May. It is August and I see new blooms! Why? Should I do something? They came with the house and I've never grown them before.
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 08/07/2012 - 10:35
It's most likely the type of lilac plant you have! Some late season bloomers include 'Miss Canada' and 'Donald Wyman.' We say, enjoy the beauty before fall arrives!
<span>Anonymous</span> Sun, 08/05/2012 - 11:49
My lilac bush @ least 6 years old. Has never bloomed. About 7 feet tall. It has never been pruned. It is mid August. Can I prune it now? Where do I get this "ash" you wrote about. There are several suckers. Should I leave them? Bush is close to corner of house by the garage. Is this OK?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 08/06/2012 - 11:25
Make sure your plant is receiving lots of sun. We recommend pruning in in spring. Any of the suggested tips in the 'Pruning' section above will be helpful in trying to get your plant to successfully bloom. You may want to start fresh by cutting down the plant to about 6 inches in height and "start over." However, this will also take a few years of patience while waiting for blooms.
<span>Anonymous</span> Sat, 07/28/2012 - 14:35
Our lilacs are 5-7ft high and I want to cut them much lower and promote more growth next year. My wife insists that the "insides" are all just wirey and says we should just cut them down and replant new. I say cut them low and they'll regrow anyway. Are EITHER of us right?
<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Tue, 07/31/2012 - 10:47
I hope it's OK with your wife is we say that you are right! Lilacs are very hardy and they regrow (as long as they're not dead). You can either: 1. Cut the bush back to short stubs (about 6 inches long) in the early spring before new growth. It will rejuvenate an old/overgrown lilac, but it not bloom until the next year. 2. OR, try the 3-year plan to keep some blooms going. Take out a third of the volume each year by cutting the large branches to the base of the plant. Be sure to prune in early spring before new growth.