In article , "bthache"
wrote:

Hello group,

I transplanted 2 small lilac bushes about 4 years ago and haven't touched
them since. They bloomed the very first year and that was it... they
haven't bloomed again. We just transplanted them again this week and lo and
behold, there are buds on them! Is the transplanting just coincidence or
were they needing something more?

They bloomed the first year after the first transplant because they had
set their buds the year before you moved them. As a generality, lilacs
stop setting buds for a year or two when they are shocked by transplant or
other significant stress factor. They had obviously recovered last year &
set buds again for this year. And they would've kept at it from now on for
years to come, but that you've replanted them anew. So there's every
likelihood they won't bloom next year, as they'll be working once again on
recovering.

-paghat the ratgirl

--
"Of what are you afraid, my child?" inquired the kindly teacher.
"Oh, sir! The flowers, they are wild," replied the timid creature.
-from Peter Newell's "Wild Flowers"
See the Garden of Paghat the Ratgirl: http://www.paghat.com/