How drastic can you be when pruning/sawing lilacs? I would like to take
away some old branches to let new ones take over.

The12'(ish) high lilac tree's very old but blooms well most years and gets
pruned a little annually after flowering (I keep it roughly the same
height). Main branches are about 4" dia, but there are new 1" dia ones
shooting up fast from lower down on these main branches. If i don't remove
one or two old branches (where the new ones start from), then i'll need to
remove the new ones as they're almost touching the old, and going in the
same direction. whats the best thing to do, and how old could a lilac tree
get before considering replacement?

TIA

In article , Sid
writes

How drastic can you be when pruning/sawing lilacs? I would like to take
away some old branches to let new ones take over.

The12'(ish) high lilac tree's very old but blooms well most years and gets
pruned a little annually after flowering (I keep it roughly the same
height). Main branches are about 4" dia, but there are new 1" dia ones
shooting up fast from lower down on these main branches. If i don't remove
one or two old branches (where the new ones start from), then i'll need to
remove the new ones as they're almost touching the old, and going in the
same direction. whats the best thing to do, and how old could a lilac tree
get before considering replacement?

They're tough. You can certainly take out old branches with no problem.
The worst you can do is miss out on a year's flowering if you take out
too much.
--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

Dear Sid,
Only take out the dead or diseased wood and anything else which you feel you
MUST take out. Lilac trees/bushes do not like being pruned. Trust me :-)
Caroline

In article , Sid
writes

How drastic can you be when pruning/sawing lilacs? I would like to take
away some old branches to let new ones take over.

The12'(ish) high lilac tree's very old but blooms well most years and gets
pruned a little annually after flowering (I keep it roughly the same
height). Main branches are about 4" dia, but there are new 1" dia ones
shooting up fast from lower down on these main branches. If i don't remove
one or two old branches (where the new ones start from), then i'll need to
remove the new ones as they're almost touching the old, and going in the
same direction. whats the best thing to do, and how old could a lilac tree
get before considering replacement?

I believe, but hope someone will confirm, that you should prune them in
spring if necessary.
--
June Hughes

Lilac trees send out lots of suckers which must be pruned off
and I have had no problem fairly drastically pruning my Lilac
Try doing a few branches each spring


"June Hughes" wrote in message
...
In article , Sid
writes

How drastic can you be when pruning/sawing lilacs? I would like to take
away some old branches to let new ones take over.

The12'(ish) high lilac tree's very old but blooms well most years and
gets
pruned a little annually after flowering (I keep it roughly the same
height). Main branches are about 4" dia, but there are new 1" dia ones
shooting up fast from lower down on these main branches. If i don't
remove
one or two old branches (where the new ones start from), then i'll need
to
remove the new ones as they're almost touching the old, and going in the
same direction. whats the best thing to do, and how old could a lilac
tree
get before considering replacement?

I believe, but hope someone will confirm, that you should prune them in
spring if necessary.
--
June Hughes