What makes lilacs happy?

Hand - dug rootball....! Were they your hands? That's a great story.

It was the lilac care page at Arnold Arboretum that said that leafroll necrosis was due to air pollution.

"Lilacs can fall victim to leaf diseases in late summer and early fall. These include powdery mildew fungus (Microsphaera alni) and leafroll necrosis. Powdery mildew produces unsightly whitish patches on the leaves, but the problem tends to be more aesthetic than physiological. Leafroll necrosis seems to be caused by air pollution. Some lilacs have proven less susceptible than others. The Arboretum conducts ongoing research to record annual levels of disease injury and to select resistant individuals."

http://www.arboretum.harvard.edu/plants/lilac_care.html

Guy...That's a great article..I also STILL have all my old Fine Gardening issues. It must have cost a fortune with all that equipment. Doesn't look like you cut any old stems to the ground!

I did have to remove two of the five stems. One had been broken previously by a tractor that had come too close while mowing, and another was horizontal and too low to work around. We brought those two stems home and used them to age the tree. I still have them, waiting for an inspirational muse to strike so I can use them in some artful way.

And yes, they were my hands, plus my neighbor's. The trackhoe operator who loaded it for us didn't charge much because he enjoyed the thought of using his hoe to save a tree for once, instead of destroying them.

I'm amazed that TWO of you actually saved all your old FG magazines! (I thought I was the world's worst pack rat, but now it looks like I have competition.) Anyway, the money I made from the story pretty much paid our mileage and the trackhoe guy.

Guy S.

If you think you have a problem with the quality of your air, check lilacs in your neighborhood for the same symptoms. If those lilacs are fine, it's not the air quality.

Really sounds more like a soil pH problem and too much nitrogen.

When you prune lilacs, do you just prune off the individual flower stalks, or do you cut the whole branch just below the spent flowers? Thanks!

By the way, if any of you lilacs experts would visit this thread, I would be grateful: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/712320/

Just take the flower stalk to prevent it from setting seed. This link should be helpful in lilac care.

http://www.gardenersnet.com/lilac/lilac02.htm

I am in no way an expert!

This message was edited Apr 14, 2007 10:36 PM

Great! Thanks for the link!

Well, if you can believe it, it's two years since my first post about my in-dire-need-of-rejuventation lilacs.

The white Ellen Wilmott is doing much better, looks perkier, has a better spread of leaves and looks like it will have a good bloom.

The syringa vulgaris on the other hand continues to bes a total mess -- a scraggly group of spaced-out suckers surrounding a few old stems. Most of its old wood I cut out over the past 3 years.

So now there's no there there, really. I think I will try to ignore it back into existence. Any other thoughts?

This is my second attempt at lilac "sensation" The first one was NOT "sensation", but was a dingy white. This one has curling leaves. I will try watering it more. Are these "sensations" especially fussy? Any advice would be appreciated. Also which spray is best for lilac leaf miners? I see that several sprays list them, & when should you apply them? Several of my common lilacs have quite a lot of the little buggers.

Jack, I'm not sure about the "sensation" question, but maybe someone else will know. I have two lilacs in huge containers that I plan to plant here very soon now that I moved. One got so dry in it's container that many of its branches are still bare. I think I'm going to have to cut those off if they don't get leaves soon. Anyway, as for leaf minors, I know that they are usually tough to kill because they are eating from the inside of the leaves. Systemic insecticides should work. I'm not sure how effective sprays are because they can't reach them on the inside of the leaves.