Cultivating Lush Lilacs

Lilac flowers should be abundant, fragrant, and enormous. Here are some tips for luscious lilacs. Lilacs often do not have flowers because they have not been pruned OR because they were pruned at the wrong time. Older branches make smaller flower heads, and buds set only at the tips of the older stems. Cutting out mature stems at the base will encourage new growth that will make more blooms.

The best time to prune is in June, just after the lilacs blossom. Taking a saw to the tree in fall or early spring is the biggest mistake homeowners can make. Prune right after flowering because buds set in August and September.

Lilacs also like a sweeter soil. Adding a good shovel full of lime will help increase the plants ability to take up and use the nutrients already in the soil. Lime and proper pruning should increase your blooms for next year.

One more point, lilacs won't set buds if the plant gets too much water in late summer. Lilacs need to sense that dry conditions are setting in to perform well. They sense a time of stress and produce more flowers as a survival technique.

So only get out the hose if your lilac is wilting. Lilacs hate clay soils that stay wet. They will thrive in an area of good drainage. Fertilize lilacs every two years. Apply a 5-10-5 fertilizer in March or April-never between July and Thanksgiving. Broadcast the fertilizer on the soil beneath the lilac, away from the shrub's base near the drip edge or the outer edge of the foliage canopy.

Enjoy!