Lilac Bush, French hybrid, Trimming and pruning...

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tubbss5 Aurora, IL Oct 05, 2007

Hello

I have a 10 - 15 year old French hybrid lilac bush. I have never pruned or trimmed this bush and I am wondering how to go about doing so. It stands around 15 foot tall and is 5 - 7 feet around. I would like to bring it under control and improve it's bloomings and generally make it look better. I am getting a picture ready...

Is there a specific forum for Lilac's here at Dave's?

Thanks

Sue

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paulgrow Allen Park, MI(Zone 6a) Oct 05, 2007

Sue

Wait until after the blooms fade next spring. If you do it now you'll lose blooms.

You can prune up to 1/3 of the branches each year. Take the largest and if any are damaged remove those, up to 1/3 of the total.

Do this each year and in 3 years you basically have a new shrub.

Paul

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tubbss5 Aurora, IL Oct 06, 2007

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tubbss5 Aurora, IL Oct 06, 2007

picture 2

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tubbss5 Aurora, IL Oct 06, 2007

picture 3

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jazzzy704 Fenton, MI(Zone 5b) Oct 14, 2007

Hey paul you gave her great advice. But knowing that at 15' feet she may not see any flowers anyway, unless she walks way down the street I may do it now and have it not bloom in the spring at all!!

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LarryR South Amana, IA(Zone 5a) Oct 14, 2007

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

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LarryR South Amana, IA(Zone 5a) Oct 14, 2007

Sue

Here's the close-up, as promised.--Larry

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