Before planting your lilac shrub, consider these three important factors:

Location of your Lilacs
Choose a site that has good drainage and at least six hours of sunlight. The soil pH should be close to neutral. Add lime if your soil is too acidic. Also, find out what lilacs do well in your specific area.

Planting your Lilacs
Use an organic 5-10-5 fertilizer. Avoid those made for lawns; the high nitrogen content will inhibit flower production. Mulch around the shrub to help retain moisture. Water regularly until the plant is established.

Pruning
Lilacs form next year's flower buds in summer. Remove spent flowers soon after blooming to encourage more growth and to encourage more growth and to prevent bud removal. Cut back dead and diseased branches anytime of the year. When plants get leggy or about every four to five years, cut back a third of the shrub. The results will greatly reward you.

You can make your lilacs last longer by following the above steps. My feelings are that if someone either plants a lilac or gives one as a gift, they are creating a legacy or memory that people will remember each blooming season for many, many years to come. Learn more about gardening at Garden Pros.

Fragrant Lilacs

Rare Yellow Lilac


Winner of the Award of Merit from the Royal Horticulture Society in 1950!

Syringa vulgaris x Primrose was introduced to the world by Wayside Gardens in 1949, and created a big sensation! Beloved in Europe, where it is much more widely grown than in this country, it received an Award of Merit from the Royal Horticulture Society in 1950, and has been treasured ever since! It is a splendid garden-worthy shrub that belongs in northern and cool-climate gardens everywhere!

In mid-spring this compact, densely-branched lilac shrub erupts with armloads of single-flowered, pastel yellow blooms, carried in large, rounded trusses. The amazing color becomes even richer as the plant matures, giving you a more dramatic show with every passing year! A fine contrast to the lilac and lavender blues of other Syringa, Primrose can be the star of your Lilac garden!

Referred to simply as "The Yellow Lilac" in Europe, this handsome shrub reaches no more than 10 feet tall, and spreads anywhere from 6 to 12 feet wide. Space the shrubs 6 to 12 feet apart in an airy location with full sun and well-drained soil. A yearly top-dressing of mulch, preferably well-composted manure, is beneficial. Zones 3-7.

Syringa Lilac - President Lincoln


Rare Color is Stunning!
Fragrance and unique color make this Lilac the essence of spring!

Syringa vulgaris lilac President Lincoln is bestowed with long, open, pyramidal clusters of single flowers of purest Wedgwood blue. Owning a very rare color in Lilacs, these magnificent flowers are the nearest to a true blue of any variety known.

Space Lilacs 6 to 12 feet apart in an airy location with full sun and well-drained soil. A yearly top-dressing of mulch, preferably well-composted manure, is beneficial. Zones 3-7.

Syringa Lilac - Miss Kim



Syringa patula lilac Miss Kim is a charming, rare Lilac from Korea that grows more compactly than the French hybrids (only 6 to 8 feet). Delicate clusters of very fragrant, single blossoms, rich pink in bud and changing to ice-blue when mature, appear weeks after the French hybrids have finished blooming, thus extending the Lilac season. Leaves turn burgundy in fall extending period of interest.

This lilac is easily kept pruned to 4 feet because of its dense, leafy habit and naturally rounded form. This small stature is ideal for smaller grounds and foundation plantings. Hardy and trouble free, it does well in the South, where other Lilacs are not happy.

Space Lilacs 6 to 12 feet apart in an airy location with full sun and well-drained soil. A yearly top-dressing of mulch, preferably well-composted manure, is beneficial. Zones 3-8.

Lilac Collection


Get the Syringa Lilac collection, all for one price.