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Posted: May/07/2009 5:47 AM PST
Any suggestions on how to get a lilac to bloom profusely? The lilac bush in question is quite old; it belonged to an old mountain cabin that my wife and I bought and was quite overgrown when we found it. The first year after clearing around it, it produced a large amount of flowers the following spring. However in the two years since that time, the spring flowering has been very sparse, while nearby yards with lilacs have had very good flowering. Should I be fertilizing a lilac? Does it need to be cut back? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. |
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Posted: May/10/2009 9:42 AM PST
There was a huge lilac at a house that we rented that was about 70 years old. WE never did a thing to it while we lived there. No pruning or anything. Even when an bad ice storm broke the whole thing down to a stump practically it started sprouting new shoots. Since it's just newly transplanted the past couple years it may take some time for it to rejuvenate. You might want to double check because I'm totally positive, but I think those are acid loving plants so you wouldn't want to use regular fertilizer on it if you do. Someone else can verify that. I hope you're able to keep it growing. |
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Posted: May/10/2009 10:42 PM PST
Lilacs require full sun and a slightly alkaline soil of pH 7.5. Soil can be made 'sweeter' (more alkaline) by adding ground limestone. |
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Posted: Dec/16/2009 10:09 PM PST
Hi! I have some lilac tips to share! I moved to the Midwest (zone 4) and inherited a beautiful old lilac tree, at least 75 years old, maybe almost 100! It's all overgrown and wild, nearly 15 feet in diameter. I garden with way more enthusiasm than skill, but when I noticed our tree flowering less, I read up on what to do about it. The absolute best time to prune a lilac tree is right after it flowers, before it starts setting buds for the next year. Most of the article I've read recommended cutting back a third of the oldest branches each year for three years, completely rejuvinating the plant. I've also read where people just cut them to the ground, but that's way too drastic a measure for me! I've added a photo of my tree. It's on the property line and the odd collection of fence bits grown into it are what make me think it's so old. The house was built in 1918 and when the tree is in full bloom, if I open my back and front doors, the breeze fills the house with it's scent. That's my incentive to prune it back so it blooms more, but I'm still worried I'll mess up its' cool mushroom shape! Have a great holiday! Attachments:  |
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Posted: Dec/17/2009 6:33 AM PST
That is beautiful! My son has moved into zone 4 (Montana), and has a shrub line of these around his back yard. His are white, and last year they bloomed a little. So-he should cut them back after they bloom? These are about 10-12 ft. high, thick wood, so I am assuming they are old. |
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Posted: Feb/17/2010 4:40 AM PST
Yes - they don't need pruning to get the best flowers - but just after blooming is a good rule-of-thumb to 'shape' any shrub/tree. Lilac get leggy & maybe too open over time - but if you think you've got one like that - DO NOT hack all of it down in one year - do half the 1st year & the other a coupla years after that - or you 'shock' it to death. |
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Posted: Mar/10/2010 7:53 AM PST
I have a big, old lilac mushroom in the front yard of my brand new house (new to me, that is). I moved in when it had leaves, but I didn't know it was a lilac until recently. It really seems weird not to have to fertilize it, since I spent most of my life in the southwest US, where EVERYTHING needs to be watered and fertilized (except some weeds). But I'll hold myself back and see how it goes this spring. I don't expect spring too soon, we just had another snow last night! I have |
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Posted: Apr/11/2010 7:15 AM PST
That is beautiful LouAnne. Having the bush in full sun is the answer. I had one when I moved here over twenty years ago and a tree had grown tall enough to shade it. A few years later when I realized this, I moved it move into the sun along with taking starts and planting them in different parts of my yard. SO far mine are not as big as yours, but getting close. |
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