Lilacs
 

I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain age?

Also, does anyone know how I can identify the species of lilac?

Happy gardening

Evan Wood
Toronto On

Lilacs
 

"Evan Wood" wrote in message
.. .
I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain age?

Also, does anyone know how I can identify the species of lilac?


I have one I dug up and stuck in a pot last fall and forgot to put more soil
in and it still bloomed with just bare roots and some soil they was attached
from where I dug it up. Looks like they are pretty tough suckers. I have
since repotted it see Here is the pic.
http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/n...4074729594.jpg

I would say this particular species definitely blooms the second season for
sure.

Lilacs
 

I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain age?

Get the soil tested -- if it is too acidic you may need to adjust the pH.
Also, there should be more than just a single stem -- Lilacs are shrubs.
Are you certain this is a Lilac? You may want to post a few pics in the
binaries group (close ups on leaves and stems). Lilacs bloom on new
growth -- anything look new on it from last season?

I have one Lilac that's about 3 feet tall, has a bunch of stems, and it
blooms every year (3rd season in the ground this year). I have another that
I did not get out of the pot last year plus it's about 1/3rd the size of the
other and not only did it survive the winter but it has more blooms than the
one that IS in the ground!

James

Lilacs
 

and not only did it survive the winter but it has more blooms than the
one that IS in the ground!

James


James... Same here, I have one that was in a pot (barely) and one in the
ground and the one in the pot has about 10x as many blooms as the one in the
ground.

Lilacs
 

Actually, I was looking at it today, and it does have a number of branches.
I know that last summer the leaves had a sort of white film on them, so I
was thinking of using an anti-dessicant spray on it this spring. I will also
check the soil pH.

Obviously the age of this lilac shouldn't be keeping it from blooming.
Hopefully I'll have some success this season.

Evan

"JNJ" wrote in message
...
I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and
there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one
stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet
tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain
age?

Get the soil tested -- if it is too acidic you may need to adjust the pH.
Also, there should be more than just a single stem -- Lilacs are shrubs.
Are you certain this is a Lilac? You may want to post a few pics in the
binaries group (close ups on leaves and stems). Lilacs bloom on new
growth -- anything look new on it from last season?

I have one Lilac that's about 3 feet tall, has a bunch of stems, and it
blooms every year (3rd season in the ground this year). I have another
that
I did not get out of the pot last year plus it's about 1/3rd the size of
the
other and not only did it survive the winter but it has more blooms than
the
one that IS in the ground!

James

Lilacs
 

Evan Wood wrote:

I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain age?

Also, does anyone know how I can identify the species of lilac?

Happy gardening

Evan Wood
Toronto On




Make sure it has enough LIGHT. We had one under a Maple tree that NEVER
bloomed. When we had the tree pruned and and cut some others we started
to get the blooms.

Kevin

Lilacs
 

The "white film" that was on the leaves last summer was most likely powdery
mildew so an anti-dessicant won't do anything for ya.

BT


"Evan Wood" wrote in message
.. .

Actually, I was looking at it today, and it does have a number of branches.
I know that last summer the leaves had a sort of white film on them, so I
was thinking of using an anti-dessicant spray on it this spring. I will also
check the soil pH.

Obviously the age of this lilac shouldn't be keeping it from blooming.
Hopefully I'll have some success this season.

Evan

"JNJ" wrote in message
...
I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and
there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one
stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet
tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain
age?

Get the soil tested -- if it is too acidic you may need to adjust the pH.
Also, there should be more than just a single stem -- Lilacs are shrubs.
Are you certain this is a Lilac? You may want to post a few pics in the
binaries group (close ups on leaves and stems). Lilacs bloom on new
growth -- anything look new on it from last season?

I have one Lilac that's about 3 feet tall, has a bunch of stems, and it
blooms every year (3rd season in the ground this year). I have another
that
I did not get out of the pot last year plus it's about 1/3rd the size of
the
other and not only did it survive the winter but it has more blooms than
the
one that IS in the ground!

James

Lilacs
 

Evan Wood wrote:
Actually, I was looking at it today, and it does have a number of branches.
I know that last summer the leaves had a sort of white film on them, so I
was thinking of using an anti-dessicant spray on it this spring. I will also
check the soil pH.


Powdery mildew.


Obviously the age of this lilac shouldn't be keeping it from blooming.
Hopefully I'll have some success this season.

Evan

"JNJ" wrote in message
...

I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and

there

was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one

stem

going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet

tall,

but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain

age?

Get the soil tested -- if it is too acidic you may need to adjust the pH.
Also, there should be more than just a single stem -- Lilacs are shrubs.
Are you certain this is a Lilac? You may want to post a few pics in the
binaries group (close ups on leaves and stems). Lilacs bloom on new
growth -- anything look new on it from last season?

I have one Lilac that's about 3 feet tall, has a bunch of stems, and it
blooms every year (3rd season in the ground this year). I have another

that

I did not get out of the pot last year plus it's about 1/3rd the size of

the

other and not only did it survive the winter but it has more blooms than

the

one that IS in the ground!

James

Lilacs
 

Actually, I was looking at it today, and it does have a number of
branches.
I know that last summer the leaves had a sort of white film on them, so I
was thinking of using an anti-dessicant spray on it this spring. I will
also
check the soil pH.

Obviously the age of this lilac shouldn't be keeping it from blooming.
Hopefully I'll have some success this season.

I wouldn't worry about the white film -- it was kind of powdery right?

James

Lilacs
 

Evan Wood wrote:

I'm in Zone 6. We moved into the house just over two years ago, and there
was a lilac in the garden. It looks very young. It's really only one stem
going upwards with some offshooting branches. It is now about 6 feet tall,
but has not flowered as of yet. Do lilacs only flower after a certain age?

Also, does anyone know how I can identify the species of lilac?

Happy gardening

Evan Wood
Toronto On

There are several reasons why lilacs don't bloom. Number one is lack of
sufficient sunlight - they need a good six hours daily to set maximum flower
buds. Less light will result in reduced flowering. Second is improper pruning
- lilacs develop flower buds during the growing season AFTER spring blooming.
If you prune back too late, you will be removing next season's flowers. Also,
young plants may not bloom for several years after planting, depending on how
they were grown and sold. If they were purchased bareroot or balled and
burlap, they may may very well bloom the year of purchase but then take
anywhere from 3-5 years to rebloom as they become established in the garden
and develop a healthy root system. Container-grown plants tend not to go
through a similar establishment period.

Most common garden lilacs are just that - various cultivars of the common
lilac, Syringa vulgaris, or hybrids of this species. There is a huge range of
flower colors available, depending on the cultivar. To determine exactly which
one yours is may not be that easy, but when it does flower (be patient and
have faith!), take a cutting in to your local nursery to see if they can
identify the cultivar for you. Or, this link may help:
http://lilacs.freeservers.com/

pam - gardengal

Lilacs
 

Second is improper pruning
If you prune back too late, you will be removing next season's flowers.
Also,


Pam, when do you prune and how much?

Lilacs
 

BiG Orange wrote:

Second is improper pruning
If you prune back too late, you will be removing next season's flowers.
Also,

Pam, when do you prune and how much?

Prune right after blooming, usually no later than June (at least in my area).
Cut out dead wood and remove spent flower heads (not necessary for next
year's flowering but it tidies things up nicely). You can reduce growth by no
more than a fourth to a third at this time, although I prefer to do major
renovational pruning in winter when the shrubs are dormant. You'll lose some
flowering, obviously, but it is far easier on the shrub to do hard pruning
when they are dormant.

pam - gardengal

Lilacs
 

Prune right after blooming, usually no later than June (at least in my
area).
Cut out dead wood and remove spent flower heads (not necessary for next
year's flowering but it tidies things up nicely). You can reduce growth by
no
more than a fourth to a third at this time, although I prefer to do major
renovational pruning in winter when the shrubs are dormant. You'll lose
some
flowering, obviously, but it is far easier on the shrub to do hard pruning
when they are dormant.

FWIW, I also do a pruning in early spring to remove dead wood. By this time
the shrub already has leaves and the flowers are already growing, so we're
talking some fairly obvious dead wood.

James