Ah, I'm not real knowledgable about this but don't suckers drain strength
and stamina from the main plant -- especially if it is sick? Shouldn't they
be snipped off so the plant can concentrate on sending nourishment to the
main tree?


"Stubby" wrote in message
...
wrote:
Hi - I bought a 3' Lilac that was (and is) afflicted with mildew and
blight. It has been in my yard for a few months now. About 5% of the
leaves are totally fine, 80% have mildew and the others (and some of
the mildew ones) have blight. There are some new suckers coming up.
Should I remove all leaves that have blight/mildew or both? If I
remove all sick leaves, the plant will have maybe 5 leaves on it.
Should I not worry about it as they will fall off over winter and it
will be better next year?
thanks!

Mildew on lilacs is par for the course. It's good to clean up dropped
leaves, spray with a fungicide, apply real (hydrated lime, not pulverized
limestone), lots of sunshine and remove a third of the oldest shoots every
year after they bloom.