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Lilacs: How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Lilac Shrubs | The Old Farmer's Almanac

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Lilacs

Huge blooms, wonderful scent.

Photo Credit
Wally Patrick
Botanical Name
Syringa spp.
Plant Type
Trees, Shrubs, and Vine
Sun Exposure
Full Sun
Part Sun
Soil pH
Neutral to Slightly Alkaline
Bloom Time
Spring
Summer
Flower Color
Blue
Pink
Purple
Red
White
Yellow
Hardiness Zone
2
3
4
5
6
7
Special Features
Attracts Butterflies

How to Plant, Grow, and Care for Lilac Shrubs

Catherine Boeckmann
June 16, 2023
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Lilacs are among the most carefree spring-flowering shrubs and provide a sweet, haunting fragrance, too! Learn how to plant, grow, and prune your lilacs.

Lilacs, said to symbolize the joy of youth and associated with spring’s awakening, are hardy, easy to grow, and low-maintenance. Although they can reach heights of 5 to 15 feet (or more), depending on the variety, the ideal lilac shrub produces flowers at eye level—all the better to enjoy their sweet fragrance.

About Lilacs

The common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is well-loved for its toughness, reliability, and fragrance. In fact, lilacs are so tough that they can grow for 100+ years, often outliving the homes they were planted around. The fragrant flowers are good for cutting and are attractive to butterflies.

While the blooms are usually lilac/purple in color (from very pale to very dark), there are also lilac varieties in white and cream and even pink and yellow. Individual flowers can be single or double.

In northern states, lilacs bloom for about 2 weeks from mid-to-late spring. However, there are early-, mid-, and late-season lilacs, which, when grown together, ensure a steady bloom for at least 6 weeks.

Read Next

Planting

Lilacs thrive in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil (at a pH near 7.0). If your soil is in poor condition, mix in compost to enrich it. (Learn more about soil amendments and preparing the soil for planting.) Choose or prepare a site that drains well. Poor drainage or pooling water can cause “wet feet,” potentially leading to root rot, stunted growth, and/or failure to flower. Test soil drainage by digging a hole 8 inches in diameter and 12 inches deep. Fill it with water; if it does not drain within an hour, choose another spot.

For the best blooms, lilacs should be planted in full sun, which is defined as being at least 6 hours of sunlight each day. Given less, they will not flower as well. 

When to Plant Lilacs

  • Like most shrubs, lilacs can be planted in either spring or fall, although the latter is preferred.

How to Plant Lilacs

  • If you’re lucky, a friend will give you a sucker, or offshoot, of the root system of one of their plants. The sucker will look pathetic at first, but just dig a hole, backfill it with soil, and stick the sucker in. Then water and wait. In 4 or 5 years, you’ll be rewarded with huge, fragrant blossoms.
  • Transplanting nursery-bought lilacs is also easy. If it’s container-grown, spread out the roots as you settle the plant into the ground; if it’s balled or burlapped, gently remove the covering and any rope before planting. Set the plant 2 or 3 inches deeper than it grew in the nursery, and work topsoil in around the roots. Water in. Then fill in the hole with more topsoil.
  • Space multiple lilac bushes 5 to 15 feet apart, depending on the variety.
Growing
  • Each spring, apply a layer of compost under the plant, followed by mulch to retain moisture and control weeds.
  • Water during the summer if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week.
  • Lilacs won’t bloom if they’re overfertilized. They can handle a handful of 10-10-10 in late winter, but no more.
  • After your lilac bush has finished blooming, spread some lime and well-rotted manure around the base. Trim the bush to shape it, and remove suckers at the same time.

Pruning Lilacs

  • Lilacs bloom on old wood, so it’s critical to prune in the spring right after they bloom. If you prune later in the summer, you may be removing the wood. Note: If over a few years your lilac flower clusters are getting smaller, it’s time to prune!
  • Every year after bloom, remove any dead wood. Prune out the oldest canes (down to the ground). Remove the small suckers. Cut back weak branches to a strong shoot. Cut back tall canes to eye height.
  • The ideal lilac shrub has about 10 canes. If your lilac is old and in really bad shape, remove one-third of the oldest canes (down to the ground) in year one, half of the remaining old wood in year two, and the rest of the old wood in year three. Another option for old lilacs is to chop the whole thing back to about 6 or 8 inches high. It sounds drastic, but lilacs are very hardy. The downside to this option is that it takes a few years to grow back. The upside is less work and more reward, as the lilac will grow back bursting with blooms. 
  • It must be recognized that severe pruning results in the loss of blooms for one to three years. For these reasons, a wise pruning program aims to avoid severe and drastic cuts by giving the bushes annual attention. 
  • Good Sucker Sense: Gertrude Jekyll, the 19th-century no- nonsense English horticulturist (1843– 1932), advocated a strenuous exercise: “When taking away suckers … it is better to tear them out than to cut them off. A cut, however close, leaves a base from which they may always spring again, but if pulled or wrenched out, they bring away with them the swollen base.”
Recommended Varieties

For early flowers, try Syringa x hyacinthiflora hybrids; they bloom 7 to 10 days before S. vulgaris. It’s fragrant blooms attract butterflies and hummingbirds.

The most common and fragrant lilacs are of the Syringa vulgaris variety:

  • Try ‘Charles Joly’, a double magenta flower; an early bloomer.
  • Mid-season lilacs include ‘Monge’, a dark reddish purple, and ‘Firmament’, a fine blue.
  • Late-season beauties include ‘Miss Canada’, a reddishpink, and ‘Donald Wyman’, a pink-purple flower.

Uncommon types/varieties include … 

  • S. x ‘Penda’ Bloomerang Purple: flowers in spring, pauses, then flowers again from midsummer through fall
  • Although common lilacs love cold weather, a few thrive as far south as Zone 8, including cutleaf hybrid S. x laciniata, with fragrant, pale lavender flowers, and S. pubescens ssp. patula ‘Miss Kim’, with pale, lilac-blue blooms that fade to white.

Small Lilacs
For gardeners, especially those in urban spaces, who just don’t have the room for the traditional larger lilac, there are compact varieties! They’ll even grow in a container on your patio or balcony.

  • ‘Baby Kim’ grows only 2 to 3 feet high (and 3 feet wide) in a nicely rounded shape with purple flowers that attract butterflies. Extended hardiness from Zones 3 to 8.
  • ‘Little Lady’ (Syringa x) is a compact lilac that matures to 4 to 5 feet tall and wide with dark pink buds that open to lilac-pink flowers. Hardy in Zones 2 to 7.
  • ‘New Age Lavender’ and ‘New Age White’ (Syringa vulgaris) are super-compact, growing from 4 to 5 feet tall and wide, and bred for mildew resistance. Their fragrant flowers attract butterflies and hummingbirds. Hardy to Zone 4.

See more lilac varieties!

Gardening Products

Wit and Wisdom
  • To improve the flowering of lilacs, keep the grass from growing around them. A 16- to 24-inch circle of landscape cloth placed around the bushes and covered with bark or stone will keep the grass down.
  • Force a winter bouquet from cut branches of lilac. Bruise the cut ends and set them in water. Spray the branches frequently. Keep them in a cool place until they bloom, then move to a warmer area for display.
  • Poet Walt Whitman thought of lilacs when Abraham Lincoln died: 
    ”When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom’d … I mourn’d, and yet shall mourn with ever-returning spring.”
  • Lilacs supposedly symbolize the joy of youth. Learn about more flower symbolism here.
  • The lilac belongs to the olive family, Oleaceae.
Pests/Diseases
  • Prone to attack by slugs and snails.
  • Powdery white mildew may appear after a summer of hot, humid weather. It may be unsightly, but it does no harm. Ignore it.
Cooking Notes

Lilac flowers are edible, but flavor varies among cultivars from no flavor to “green” and lemony flavor. Gather insect- and disease-free blooms early in the day. Avoid any that are unopened or past their peak. Wash the flowers gently in cool water. Pat them dry and refrigerate until ready to use.

Consider making candied lilac flowerets for a special cake decoration: Separate the individual flowers. Using tweezers, dip each one into a beaten egg white, reconstituted egg white powder, or packaged egg whites. Then dip the flower in finely granulated sugar. Set it aside to dry before placing it on a cake.

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Comments

Megan Smith (not verified)

3 months 1 week ago

I have a lilac bush with only 5-6 thick canes then maybe 20-30 branches. . The bush is a little over 4ft tall, only produced 1 Bloom so far. It is planted near landscaping stones at the end of a garden bed. It was hard-pruned this past winter (i know blooms will take another year or more). With it being planted near stones (on 1 side only), how can I encourage my bush to send out more shoots to grow wider/bushier?
I’m in Zone 6B. No clue what variety i have, it bloomed a very light purple almost white bloom 1 year ago or so. It gets full sun

Hi, Megan,

After hard pruning, where everything is cut down to about 6 to 8 inches (on grafted plants, be sure to make the cut above the graft union), it will take a few years for the bush to re-establish and fill out, but you should see some nice growth coming up over the years. We’re guessing the 4-foot-growth appeared this year after the hard pruning last winter? For the next few years, perhaps refrain from pruning drastically any further, to allow the plant to re-establish itself. Do, however, continue to remove any dead, diseased, or crossing branches.

In general, if a lilac bush needs just a tiny bit of pruning to keep it in shape, and to encourage bushy growth, you can cut the tips of branches that are too tall back to a side shoot or bud. This will encourage that side shoot to grow outward instead of the tip continuing to grow upward. Deadheading spent flowers can also help the plant focus its energy on growing shoots and new flowers. Remove any suckers that pop up near the base of the plant.

Make sure that the plant has good growing conditions; full sun, as you have, is great for it. Also check if it has well-draining soil. Clay soil can slow its growth. Lilacs do best in neutral soil pH.

Hope this helps!

Hugh Nugent (not verified)

5 months 1 week ago

I have a lilac, approximately 15 feet tall, full sun, soil etc.is in good condition. Unfortunately there is no evidence of growth. There was an ice storm in our area in April, however I have a second lilac that bloomed just fine.

The one in question we lost approximately one third due to ice storm damage. I trimmed back the damaged portion. Please note that I am approximately 40 kilometres north of Montreal Quebec and the lilac in question was planted in 1999.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

PS as mentioned I have another lilac which is fine and I have two Japanese Lilac Trees that are growing without any issues.

kami (not verified)

6 months 1 week ago

Hello. I have a Lilac Tree which is taking over by sprouting all around the tree and taking space from the other plants. I put the fabric around the tree and covered with stones but still coming right and left . any advise? Thanks

Hi, Kami, You’re dealing with runners or suckers. Most lilac plants spread this way (one variety, Miss Canada lilac (Syringa x prestoniae, does not send out as many as most others; other “safe,” suckerless options include Meyer lilac, Peking, and Manchurian lilac). 

What to do? There are not a lot of options. As you’ve learned, covering the runners will not stop them. One solution may be to install barriers, or edging, that you bury about 6 inches or more below ground level. Use a steel or metal edged type. First cut (at ground level or as low/deep as you can) and pull the existing runners, then put in the barrier. It should reduce or stop the runners for a few seasons.

Kay Perry (not verified)

6 months 2 weeks ago

I have an older lilac bush in front of my house. It has been my pride and joy. But this winter I had some huge branches break off. Now I don't know what to do with it to help it. I am not sure if I should just leave it be or if I should give it an extreme trimming. Can you offer some suggestions?

FRANCES DODGE (not verified)

10 months ago

I HAVE A LILAC BUSH THAT STARTED LIFE AS PURPLE. IT BLOSSOMED WITH TINY WHITE FLOWERS DURING LATE FALL AT THE VERY TIP OF THE BRANCHES. THIS LAST SUMMER IT BLOOMED WHITE AND THE BLOSSOMS WERE LITTLE. IT IS NOW LOADED WITH DEEP BLUE PURPLE BARRIES THAT REMIND ME OF MAINE'S WILD BLUE BARRIES. THIS IS THE FIIRST TIME THE BLOSSOMS TURNED INTO BARRIES. IS THIS NORMAL?

Lilacs don't produce berries. They do, however, produce seeds. So unless it is a seed then you don't have a lilac bush :) sorry

Is it possible that you had a lilac grafted onto another plant? Sometimes when things are grafted, the rootstock plant starts to grow and take over. I just looked online and it said that lilacs are often grafted onto privet rootstock. Privet does have white flowers and berries ~ which are poisonous, so don’t eat them!

Brooke (not verified)

1 year 2 months ago

Hi,

I planted a Lilac bush in the early spring in Denver. It's been an extremely hot summer. I've done my best to water at least weekly, but it doesn't look like it's doing so well. The leaves have small brown spots on them and some are curled at the edges. It hasn't grown any taller since I've planted it. What should I do?!

Thank you for the help,

Brooke