My lilac

Just wanted to show a picture of our lilacs. We purchased a property that last had a house on it around 1900. It appeared there were two lilacs planted, one probably at the front door, and one at the back, as was common back in those days. In our area, apparently people peddled lilacs door to door. They are now about 20' X 40-50' each. It is the common lilac Syringa Vulgaris. We put a fence in the area about 8 years ago, and you can see it to the left. The lilacs have grown about 6' past the end of the fence. Moral of the story, ----I don't know, I love them, but certainly not for the city 1/4 acre.
Polly

And my Granddaughter Jenna loves them.

They are part of the living history of your garden. If they have a few stout stems nd are not merely clouds of suckers, consider pruning them into small trees and underplanting with other things.
Guy S.

Guy,

They are absolutely clouds of suckers. I have enough other room for planting, and plan to just leave them be. We let them grow out a little each year, but mow down most of the encroaching new suckers. We've brought out plants, --iris, and hemerocallis we found growing under them, and I have thrown some forget me nots in there.

Three years ago we had a horrible ice storm, and many of the limbs were broken off, so I suspect that rejuvinated it for awhile.

They've done so well by themselves, I just want to let them be to do their own thing. We have 63 acres, so let them spread.

Thanks for looking at the picture.

Polly

And thus another ancient lilac survives at least one more human generation!
Here's one of ours from 1875, in tree form --

Guy S.

How beautiful! And how wonderful to know the exact age. What else do you know of it, do you know who planted it? Was it on your property, or did you move it there?

There used to be a road on our property when the house was there, and the house fell down around 1900, and no one had lived there fro a few years, so they closed the road.

When we moved here we had to put a new roadway in, and of course easiest was to go the route of the old road. The lilacs had grown across the old road, and when the put the new road in they plowed them into a huge pile, and now those are blooming.

We moved it in 1988 from my wife's grandparents' farm in central Iowa. There was a thread with some info about it a few months back, but I don't recall the title. If someone else out there does, please paste in a link for Polly!

Guy S.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/593321/

Lots of detail, slight comedy, but still a good read.

Thanks!

My gosh, what an undertaking that was. And what a great job you did. It almost boggles the mind to think a plant that large could be moved successfully.

Do you have it in your will that it must be kept there always? I hope your property will always stay in your family, or in a trust. That's something I always am concerned with, but my daughter has said she will make sure, at least in her lifetime that our property is preserved.

Enough of the ghoulish. Thanks for sharing that with me.

I'm going to have to hang around this forum more. You all are some interesting people.

Polly



This message was edited May 29, 2006 8:50 PM

Looks like we suckered in another one guys!
;-)

Welcome to the Hotel California, Polly. Once you're hooked, you can never leave!!!

Viburnum, I should have known you would be the one to find that link in a millisecond! Thanks.

Guy S.