shaping lilac into tree

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gsc13 Taneytown, MD(Zone 7a) May 06, 2010

Is it possible to shape a regular lilac bush into the shape of a tree rather than a bush?

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FertiSorb Harvard, IL(Zone 5a) May 06, 2010

There's a thread on lilacs that you may be interested in, and your question is specifically addressed:
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/shrub/lilac.htm
I'd think that if you found a branch that is sufficiently vertical, and then carefully pruned lower branches from it that you'd eventually have a lilac that resembled a tree. However, I think you're looking at a project that will take several years to accomplish, and I don't think I'd try it on an older lilac. On the other hand, we just bought a Miss Kim lilac that had been grafted onto what I believe is a birch trunk. The trunk is about 4 feet tall, and I was told that the trunk will not get taller, but will add girth, while the lilac will grow to its normal size, making the overall plant taller and wider. We'll see.

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altagardener Calgary, AB(Zone 3b) May 06, 2010

It would be good to consider, first, the type of lilac you are considering doing this to, if you know. If it is an older cultivar - a suckering type - trying to force it into tree form may bring on a lot of maintenance (cutting off suckers), as it tries to grow as a thicket, as it naturally would.

(BTW, grafting a lilac onto a birch standard is extremely unlikely.. only closely-related genera can be used successfully for grafting.)

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FertiSorb Harvard, IL(Zone 5a) May 06, 2010

I'm not sure of the genus of the stem, just what it looks like. Sure makes a nice display, however.

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