There's more to the lilac than meets the nose. Lilacs are a true sign of spring, great for the landscape because, once established, they'll bloom year after year with little care.
When you're shopping for lilacs, you'll find hundreds of varieties to choose from, but basically there are three categories. The dwarf lilac grows about five feet tall. The standard grows 10 to 12 feet. And for taller varieties, check out the tree lilac. They top out at 15 to 25 feet. Within these three categories, there are even more varieties.
At that point, it's all based on color and fragrance. One of the most fragrant lilacs is the 'Mount Baker', a white-flowered form. If you want purple flowers, you may want to try 'Pocahontas'. If, on the other hand, fragrance is not what you care about but you want the pretty flowers, then 'Charles Joly' might be the choice for you. This lilac is very lightly scented. Most of these lilacs need a cool season, so they grow best in Zones 3 through 7. Planting couldn't be easier.
The best location for your lilac is an area that gets at least six hours of sunshine a day. Lilacs aren't finicky about soil except that it must be well-drained--it can't be soggy and wet. If you live in the Eastern U.S., soils tend to be more acidic there, so you may want to mix in a little bit of lime to sweeten the soil. The best times to plant lilacs are in the spring and in the fall.
The hole you dig for your lilac should be as deep as the container and anywhere from six to 12 inches wider. If you have heavy clay soil, however, the wider the hole the better.
Carefully remove the plant from its container, and score the roots with a sharp knife. This will help get the plant established more quickly. Then, place the plant in the center of the hole. Fill the sides up with soil. When the hole is about halfway filled, give the plant a good drink of water and let it drain.
Finally, fill the hole with the remaining soil and water once again. Don't worry about fertilizing the first year. It's not until the second spring and thereafter that you'll scratch in some 10-10-10 fertilizer.
One common problem with lilacs is a fungus called powdery mildew. It looks like white powder that covers the leaves. Don't worry, it's not going to kill the shrub, but it just doesn't look very pretty. If you want to keep it from spreading, all you need to do is reach into your kitchen cupboard, and pull out your baking soda. You want to mix one tablespoon of baking soda with 2-1/2 teaspoons of a vegetable oil. Then just mix it into a gallon of water, put it in a spray bottle, and spray it on the tops and bottoms of the leaves. Reapply every 14 days.
The best part about growing lilacs is that you don't have to prune them at all if you don't want to. They can go without being pruned and still have glorious blooms. If, however, you want to rejuvenate a bush, it's a good idea to just thin out a third of the old wood. Just to be sure, check with your garden center on the variety you're growing. If you want to shape the outside of the shrub, timing is everything. You can prune the lilacs when they're blooming or shortly after the flowers have faded. If you wait any longer than that, you'll cut off next year's blooms.
The added benefit of cutting the lilacs when they're in bloom is having fragrant bouquets that you can enjoy indoors. Cut them early in the morning when they're loaded with water. Then, when you're preparing them for the vase, make sure you make a 45-degree angle at the end of the stem. The next thing you want to do is peel off the bark. Both of these steps will help encourage the uptake of water. If you want, remove the green foliage. Make sure no foliage touches the water; otherwise it will sour. Just pop them into a vase, then sit back and enjoy.
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