Beginner Gardening: Lilac Bush, French hybrid, Trimming and pruning..., 0 by LarryR

LarryR wrote:
Sue

Good advice from Paul and Jazzy. It's advice that I follow MOST of the time. I do like to experiment, though. Below is a photo of a lilac in our garden that is over 50 years old. I just ran out in the rain a moment ago to photograph it so that I could show it to you. I've been tending it ( actually ignoring it most of the time) since the mid-80s. When I took over the garden from my mother-in-law after she couldn't take care of it anymore, the older branches were already somewhat gnarled and the bush hadn't been pruned or thinned in quite some time. I loved the gnarly look, so I let it do it's thing. Despite my neglect, it has bloomed profusely every year in a wonderful silvery lilac color that literally glows at dusk.

As you can see, some of the outer branches have become heavy with age and have slowly sunk to the ground. I let this happen because it provides a perfect screen for our patio from the public walkway just beyond it that divides our garden in half. I'll send you a second photo showing a close-up of the older branches.

Happy gardening!-- Larry at Cottage-in-the-Meadow Gardens

This message was edited Oct 14, 2007 5:02 PM