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.”

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!

Shrubs and Trees

About The Author

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.

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Comments

Add a Comment

Anonymous Wed, 04/25/2012 - 11:35

I am not sure but my lilac has dry ends on 3/4 of the stems this year-I have had them before-it visually looks like a spent bud-open with nothing in it-they snap right off-I don't know why one has to trim back the spent flowers every year-My aunt has been gone for many years-she always had large full lilac bushes-they are still that way at her place-house is gone but lilacs are still there-never get pruned or treated in any other way-they are gorgious-I even took one to plant at my home-whats up with the dry ends and whats your feelings on my aunts lilacs-never been touched-

Anonymous Thu, 04/19/2012 - 13:37

The past few winters have been very mild (I'm in Maryland, zone 7a) and my lilacs are barely putting out any flowers. Is there anything I can do to encourage blooming despite this?

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Thu, 04/19/2012 - 14:53

There are five main reasons that lilacs fail to bloom: insufficient sunlight, too much nitrogen fertilizer, improper planting (planted too deeply), improper pruning (pruning at the wrong time) or winterkill of the flower buds. Also, lilacs will typically not bloom the season after a harsh pruning, so you may need to wait until next year before you see flowers. If nothing works, you might take a sucker from your lilac bush and try growing it in a new location.

Anonymous Mon, 04/16/2012 - 22:27

We are outside Philadelphia & want to plant lilacs Any suggestions as to which types work bests & when is then best time to plant? Thanks

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Wed, 04/18/2012 - 08:27

On variety, it depends on whether you want a tree, shrub, border, etc. A classic is the common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). It's 7 to 15 feet tall and spreads 6 to 12 feet once grown. For a smaller lilac, consider the Persian lilac tree. Then there is the ‘Miss Kim’ (Syringa patula), a hardy compact shrub (five feet high by five feet wide). April and May are good times for planting. Enjoy the lovely lilac blooms!

Rhenn Tue, 04/10/2012 - 12:58

My mom has a lilac bush that has been outside her bedroom window for at least 50 years. We are selling the homestead. I would like to known if you can take a cutting from the lilac bush and put in my yard so I can always think of mom with the lovley lilacs of my childhood?

Anonymous Tue, 04/10/2012 - 12:24

My Mom has a lilac bush that has been near her bedroom window ever since I can remember it must be at least 50 years old?. We are selling her house but I would like to know if you can take a cutting from this and plant in my yard to remember her by?

Anonymous Sat, 05/12/2012 - 07:40

Established lilacs such as this will have smaller off shoot plants growing around the perimeter of the bush. You can easier dig up some of the smaller lilacs plants growing around the main bush. The roots are not very deep - less then 6". Don't feel timid to only dig up a lilac plant that is a foot high - you can easily replant ones that are 3 to 4 feet high - just looked for slender upright growth. These replanted lilac bushes will be smaller and resemble a small flowering tree until they begin to fill out over the years. I moved an established lilac bush which was over 6' x 6' without in sections without damaging it (it was over 20 years old). Lilacs are really a single bush but a cluster of bushes which lend themselves to be relocated in desired.

Anonymous Mon, 04/09/2012 - 10:13

My Aunt gave me a lilac cutting eight years ago. It has only bloomed once. The bush is still very small. What do I need to do?

<a title="View user profile." href="/author/editors">The Editors</a> Mon, 04/09/2012 - 16:40

The usual reasons that I lilac languishes is: too much shade or too much nitrogen. Move the plant if needed and make sure you fertilize correctly. One way to get your hydrangea blooming is to drive a spade into the ground around the lilac--about where its foliage ends. Do this in a circle around the lilac about 6 times.

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Planting and Growing Lilac Bushes