In article , "Boots"
wrote:
My lilac bush does not bloom. It is 5 years old and gets a
half a day of sun. Last summer I had one flower 1/2 " high
and nothing this year. What am I doing wrong?
#1 cause of failure to bloom is insufficient sunlight. Ideally they have
morning AND afternoon sun; morning sun alone could well be insufficient.
Six bright hours is the minimum, longer would be great. If the shrub isn't
getting enough sun, no matter what else you do for it it won't bloom.
#2 reason for never blooming is their narrow environmental requirements
aren't met. They need very warm summers with lots & lots of sunlight, then
a good solid wintry winter for dormancy; they like rather northerly
climates with summer sun still shining at nine at night, followed short
winter days, like in central Europe or the Pacific Northwest. If
conditions are too even year round, especially the older cultivars will
forget when it's time to bloom (newer varieties are more forgiving). So
some of the commercially prepared plants are grown where they get exactly
the seasons they want & are quick-shipped to market as soon as buds are
big, & people buy a plant in full flower -- but it's the wrong zone &
though it won't drop dead it won't bloom again either.
Other possibilities:
They set buds a year in advance, & untimely pruning can remove all the
next year's flowers. Correct time to prune is immediately after bloom, as
they set new buds the summer after blooming. Pruning in autumn, winter, or
spring removes those buds.
Fertilizing with nitrogen-rich fertilizer can stop them from blooming.
Kelp or bonemeal is about as much fertilizer as they can stand.
So too overwatering can stop them from setting buds. Sometimes worrying
about a shrub causes a gardener to take extra special good care of it,
meaning watering it way too often & overfertilizing, when it would more
likely thrive on neglect.
Ours do fine in our naturally acidic soils, but sometimes they don't, &
if soil is too acidic it might slow them down, & feedings of lime or
wood-ash can help them flower. But don't lime the soil without knowing the
pH as if it doesn't need lime it seriously doesn't need lime.
A shrub planted too deep in the ground will not bloom; it should be
planted on a little hump.
It's rare that lilac buds freeze off, but if there is a harshe late freeze
that hits the buds just as they come out of dormancy, they could all be
killed.
There MIGHT be nothing wrong. If your shrub is really only five years old
total, it would not be at all unusual that it didn't bloom until it was
six years old & of substantial size -- it normally takes to to five
full years before they bloom at all. Even somewhat mature lilacs
pot-raised frequently take three to five full years to "settle in" from
the shock of being transplanted into the garden -- six or seven years
would be an unexpected length of time, but five is just within the normal
range of adjustment.
-paghat the ratgirl
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