I have three old lilac shrubs which I would like to rejuvenate by cutting
some of the legs down to ground level. About how long does it take for
new shoots to develop after cutting a leg off? And when is a good time to
do the cutting?

A lot of the wood on these shrubs are old and opened up, but the shrubs
are in pretty decent shape. My concern is that no new shoots will develop
after cutting down to the ground.

Thanks,
Chris Swartz
Zone 5

Here's what I have done Chris, and it works great:

Select some of the oldest, largest canes for removal, with an eye towards
opening up the shrub to allow more air and light in to the interior. I would
take no more than a third of the total number of trunks. The best time to do
this is very early spring, or immediately after flowering. Cut them off at
ground level.

Put down a generous layer of composted cow manure, sprinkling of bone meal,
and mulch and then water when rain is not sufficient. You should get great
suckering growth at the base and also great blooms next spring. For extra
vigour you can deadhead the flowers for a few seasons as well.

Dave

"Chris S." wrote in message
...

I have three old lilac shrubs which I would like to rejuvenate by cutting
some of the legs down to ground level. About how long does it take for
new shoots to develop after cutting a leg off? And when is a good time to
do the cutting?

A lot of the wood on these shrubs are old and opened up, but the shrubs
are in pretty decent shape. My concern is that no new shoots will develop
after cutting down to the ground.

Thanks,
Chris Swartz
Zone 5

"Chris S." wrote:

I have three old lilac shrubs which I would like to rejuvenate by cutting
some of the legs down to ground level. About how long does it take for
new shoots to develop after cutting a leg off? And when is a good time to
do the cutting?

A lot of the wood on these shrubs are old and opened up, but the shrubs
are in pretty decent shape. My concern is that no new shoots will develop
after cutting down to the ground.

Because you really want to achieve something, this probably won't work for
you. My neighbor 3 years ago got real tired of a large lilac bush on the
side of her house (faces our front door and can't be seen by the owners w/o
coming to that side of their house) so she cut it down to just above ground
level with a hand saw hoping it would die. I was deeply saddened to see it
go as the lilacs smell so wonderful in spring, and this one being 20' from
our door..... This year being the 2nd year, its 4' tall and 4' wide and
produced some real nice flowers in spring. She's not watered it nor given it
any form of fertilizer, nor have we. In fact, I doubt she's aware its alive
else she'd cut it down again. Being in Albuquerque trust me, it has gotten
almost no moisture, but has managed to grow into a beautiful bush. It now
has hundreds of little pods on the ends of many of the branches ans is as
healthy as can be. It was cut in the heat of the summer FWIW.

Speaking of these little pods (1/8" thick, 3/4" long), any idea what they
are? New leaf growth perhaps?

--
John S. DeBoo

My concern is that no new shoots will develop
after cutting down to the ground.

Don't worry. If you cut your oldest, thickest canes back to about 4 inches, you
should have new growth to a height of 2-3 feet in the next season. The new
canes will not bloom until the season after that. See:
http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/CoopE...ubs/lilacs.htm
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