*All
Lilacs need eight or more hours of full sun in order to grow
and bloom their best.
* Lilac
plants must have good drainage. They can take quite a bit of
water but can not stand in it. Plants like Willow and Cedar will
soak up much excess water in their area. Choose a well drained
location for lilac plants.
*Do
pruning on all Lilac bushes immediately after they finish flowering.
Lilacs set buds for the next year {including flower buds} right
after flowering.
*Lilac bushes will benefit from
having the spent blossoms pruned off just after flowering. This
prevents them from trying to make seeds which slows down the
shrub's growth.
*All Lilacs benefit greatly from
having a sweet soil. Top dress lilac plants with lime, wood ashes,
well aged manure, compost & lawn clippings.
* Pruning Lilac bushes will encourage
strong new growth.
*There are well over a thousand
registered varieties of Lilacs but still very few true dwarfs.
*Syringa Vulgaris Lilacs {Common
& French varieties} will do well in USDA cold zones 2-7.
Syringa Hyacinthefolia Lilacs {early season} and Syringa
Prestoni {late season} are best in USDA zones 4-8.
*Early season lilacs bloom 7-10
days before the common old fashion and French hybrids. Late season
cultivars flower 10 - 14 days after the old fashion and French
hybrids.
*Green horned tomato worms eat
lilac leaves.
*Mice will chew on the bark of
tender new plants. Use a mouse guard during winter on young lilacs.
*To avoid premature wilting keep
fresh cut Lilac flowers in water at all times. |
