Hi all. I have an year old lilac (about 2 ft. tall) that stood in standing
water for a couple of weeks this year, due to the ridiculous amount of rain
we had and a low spot on my yard. This happened right as the leaves were
sprouting out and it seemed to "stunt" it. The leaf buds never got any
bigger (except for the very bottom of the shrub) and now all but 10% (the
aforementioned bottom part) is bare sticks. The 10% looks healthy. I moved
it to a higher spot in the yard to prevent this in the future, but I'm
wondering if I should cut it back and leave just the healthy areas, or leave
it alone altogether and hope it leafs out normally next year?
Help! I just love lilacs and bring bunches of them in the house every year,
whenever I can beg, borrow and steal from a lucky owner. The whole house
smells fantastic! My wet yard is not conducive to growing them, it seems.
Thanks,
Lori