Lazarus Cooke wrote:
I used to have a lilac tree in my fairly shaded garden, but it never
flowered, so we cut it down. Now my girlfriend fancies getting one
again. Was it the shade that was stopping it flowering (in which case
there's no point?)
Or was it just bad luck?
or something else?

My neighbour had a lilac for 3 years and it didn't flower. It was in a
shady part of her garden. She fed it sulphate of potash and last year
she had a few flowers, this year lots more. How old was yours and what
kind was it?