Ann wrote in
:

enigma expounded:
do lilacs respond to layering as a propagation method?

Yea, but why not just dig one of the suckers with roots and
use that to increase?

because i don't know which are from the white lilac. the
suckers don't (or haven't yet) bloom, probably because they're
so shaded by the huge overgrowth. there's several large lilacs
in the clump. the white is on the lower edge & the tallest. it
lost one trunk in the early spring snowstorm here. it has 2
major trunks left.
i did move a sucker from another lilac the previous owner
planted in dead shade. the main shrub fell over trying to get
to light... the poor sucker had almost no roots, but i kept it
well watered the first year & it's been growing. this year it
really added a lot of fullness & looks really good. hasn't
bloomed yet, but i figure it's been settling in. i think it
may bloom next spring. if not, well, it fills up a blank spot
by a stone wall nicely anyway.
lee