A Lilac with dark purple buds opening to deep purple flowers.
Pronunciation
(si-RING-A)(vul-GAR-is)
Plant Type
All Plants, Shrubs Deciduous
Hardiness Zone
4-7
Sunlight
full, I have been asked many times "Why doesn't my Lilac flower as good as before". The reason is usually the amount of light. Many plants get less light as the trees grow larger around them. Also Lilacs are plant in one direction light. This means one side flowers more than the other
Moisture
average, never soggy
Soil & Site
average
Flowers
panicles of single violet to purple, can have a silvery two tone effect, good cut flowers, fragrant
Fruit
seeds in loose clusters of beaked dehiscent capsules
Leaves
opposite, simple, glossy green leaves that can suffer from powdery mildew in the fall
Stems
raised lenticels on stems
Dimensions
8-15 feet high by 1/2 to 3/4 spread, too large for use near the house, best used as specimen plants or in shrub borders, can be used on corner plantings as long as given 6-8 feet from the corner
Maintenance
There are many different ways to prune a Lilac. The most drastic is to cut them down to the ground. Using this method I have had ones sucker back and regrow while others that didn't make. You can cut out the old stems and let the new suckers fill in thinning them to the desired amount. On many old plants we have removed all the suckers and left a few of the old stalks. Pruning them up to bare base stems, turning the plant into a small tree. Width can be controlled by pruning them back 1-2 or more nodes. Drastic pruning may delay flowering a few years. Since Lilacs bloom on next season’s wood, prune after they are done blooming
Propagation
division of suckers, cuttings
Native Site
Lilac is native to Europe and has been in cultivation since the 16th century.
Cultivar Origin
John Fiala, 1980
Notes & Reference
#93-North American Landscape Trees (Arthur Lee Jacobson), #104-Lilacs “A Gardeners Encyclopedia”(Fiala)