White lilac planting and care. Lilac - planting and care in open ground

Lush clusters of blooming lilacs appear in May and delight with their beautiful blooms and delicate aroma for several weeks. Many gardeners grow shrubs to decorate their summer cottages single plantings, decorative groups or lilac hedges. This plant tolerates well winter frosts, is resistant to drought and does not cause any problems in care. You can grow it yourself even with minimal gardening experience.

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Description of the plant

Lilac is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub from the olive family, ranging in height from 2 to 8 m. In its natural environment, the plant lives in the mountainous regions of Eurasia. The diameter of the trunks with dark gray bark can reach 20 cm. The leaves are light or dark green, have different shapes depending on the variety, they bloom early and do not fall until late autumn.

The flowers are small, collected in paniculate inflorescences, reaching a length of 20 cm, and can be painted in all shades of white, pink or purple. The flower is a four-toothed, bell-shaped calyx with two stamens and a long tube. Depending on the variety, variety and climatic conditions, flowering of the shrub begins with last days April to early June. At this time, the plant emits a delicate, pleasant aroma. The fruits are two-leaf capsules with several winged seeds.

Popular varieties of lilac:

Name	Description	Photo
Amur lilac	This popular type of lilac is shade-tolerant and grows in moist soil. The height of a multi-stemmed tree can reach 20 m. The leaves, in their shape, resemble the foliage of common lilac. Their color changes from green-purple when they bloom to purple or orange-yellow in the fall. The flowers are white or cream, collected in long panicles. The species is resistant to frost and is used in single and group plantings and for growing hedges.	Amur lilac
Lilac Kolesnikova	This group represents unique varieties bred by self-taught breeder Leonid Kolesnikov. After the death of the breeder, many of the varieties were lost forever due to negligence, and now you can find about 50 varieties of lilacs bred by him. Some of them are presented in a single copy. Kolesnikov's lilac is distinguished by its unique colors and flower shapes; many of them, due to the variability of shade, cannot be classified in any varietal group	Lilac Kolesnikova Beauty of Moscow
Hungarian lilac	This type of lilac grows in the Carpathians and is a shrub up to 7 m in height. The leaves are wide oval shape, up to 12 cm long, dark green. Small purple flowers are collected in narrow panicles. The pale form with soft purple flowers and the red form with reddish-purple flowers are grown in gardens.	Hungarian lilac
Mayer's lilac	This species is compact in size and has a height of up to one and a half meters. The leaves are small oval, up to 4 cm long, dark green. Flowers of a light lilac-pink hue form erect inflorescences up to 10 cm long	Mayer's lilac
Persian lilac	This hybrid variety is a shrub up to 3 m high with thin, dense, lanceolate-shaped leaves. The flowers reach 2 cm in diameter and have a light purple or blue tint. They grow white Persian lilac, red and dissect-leaved. The last form is dwarf plant with small openwork leaves	Persian lilac
Chinese lilac	A hybrid variety between common lilac and Persian lilac, bred by French breeders in 1777. The height of the bushes can reach 5 m. The leaves are pointed, lanceolate, dark green in color, up to 10 cm long. The flowers of a bright purple hue reach 18 mm in diameter, collected in wide drooping inflorescences up to 10 cm long. The most common forms: double with double flowers, pale purple and dark purple	Chinese lilac
Hyacinth lilac	This hybrid variety was bred by Victor Lemoine by crossing common lilac and broadleaf lilac. The leaves are heart-shaped with a pointed end and dark green in color, turning purple in the fall. The flowers are like ordinary lilacs, collected in loose inflorescences. The most popular varieties: Churchill, Esther Staley, People's Glory	Lilac hyacinth Esther Staley



Planting lilacs

Proper planting of a shrub greatly facilitates its care in the future. For lilacs, it is important to choose the right site. The plant prefers a well-lit place protected from gusts of wind. In the shade it develops poorly and may not bloom.

It is necessary to pay attention to the condition of the soil. In flooded areas, which are often found in Leningrad region or in the Moscow region, the culture is not capable of growing. Wetlands or places with close groundwater are unsuitable for its cultivation. The shrub loves light fertile soil, moderately moist and rich in humus.

Under natural conditions, lilac grows in the mountains, so it blooms in the spring when there is a lot of rainfall. In the summer, the plant enters a dormant period, and in the fall it can bloom again. It is best to plant it at a time when lilacs are dormant, that is, from mid-summer to early September. A crop planted in spring or autumn will not develop well.

When purchasing seedlings, it is preferable to choose specimens with a closed root system and good branching. If the roots of the seedling are open, then before planting they are carefully examined, diseased and broken ones are cut off, and healthy ones are trimmed to a length of 30 cm. It is also recommended to shorten shoots that are too long, and remove damaged ones completely.

Before planting lilacs in fertile soil, make holes with steep walls 50 cm wide and the same depth. If the soil is poor, then the size should be doubled in order to fill the remaining space with nutritious soil when planting, consisting of:

• 20 kg of compost;
• 30 g superphosphate;
• 300 g wood ash.

If the soil on the site is acidic, it is recommended to double the amount of ash. The distance between the pits should be from 2 to 3 m, depending on the type of lilac. When planting a hedge, it can be reduced to one and a half meters.

Step-by-step instructions for planting lilacs:

1. 1. Be sure to lay a drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay or crushed stone at the bottom of the prepared pit.
2. 2. Pour fertile soil on top in the form of a slide.
3. 3. Place the seedling on the mound, straightening the roots.
4. 4. Fill the remaining space fertile soil. When planting seedlings, leave the root collar 3–4 cm above the ground level.
5. 5. Water the seedling generously and mulch the tree trunk circle.



Garden care

It is necessary to care for lilacs only in the first few years after planting; adult plants provide themselves with nutrients and will only require regular pruning.

In summer, during a long absence of rain, the crop needs to be watered abundantly. Adult bushes obtain moisture on their own.



Trimming

Pruning for sanitary purposes can be done at any time of the year. During the flowering period, you should promptly get rid of faded inflorescences by cutting them off. Lilac thickens as it grows, so you need to regularly cut out one or two old branches to form a spreading bush. It is also necessary to remove excess young growth, cutting it to the soil level.

You should not prune in the fall, as an unhealed cut can lead to the branch freezing in winter.



Lilac pruning scheme

In case of weak growth and poor branching, short stimulating pruning is carried out. On next year carry out formative pruning. After another year, the shoots growing inside the bush are cut off, and last year’s shoots are shortened by 1/3.

In the third year, pruning is carried out according to the same scheme. After the formation of a dense crown without voids, annual shoots are not cut off so that flower buds form on them. Subsequently, they only maintain its shape by cutting off unnecessary shoots.

Feeding

In the first three years after planting, the plant needs a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer. In the second year, 65 g of ammonium nitrate and 50 g of urea are added to each bush.

Instead of chemicals you can use organic matter. Lilacs respond well to feeding with slurry: 1 to 3 buckets are required for each bush. To obtain it, cow manure is diluted with water in a ratio of 1:3. A furrow is dug 50 cm from the trunk and the resulting solution is poured there.

Every 2–3 years add potassium and phosphate fertilizers: 35 g of double superphosphate and 30 g of potassium nitrate per plant. The granules are buried to a depth of 6–8 cm and the bush must be watered abundantly. Instead, you can use an ash solution prepared from 8 liters of water and 200 g of ash.

Protection from diseases

In August, bacterial necrosis may appear on leaves and shoots. When infected, the leaves become ash-gray and the shoots turn brown. To get rid of the disease, it is necessary to increase the ventilation of the crown, for which it must be thinned out, removing the affected branches. If the bush is severely damaged, it cannot be saved and it is uprooted.

Bacterial rot appears on all parts of the plant. It manifests itself in the form of wet spots that quickly increase in size. As a result, the leaves become limp and dry out, and the shoots also dry out and become deformed. To treat the bush, it is necessary to treat it with a solution of copper oxychloride 3-4 times with an interval of 10 days.

When affected by powdery mildew, the lilac becomes covered with a whitish coating, which, as the disease progresses, thickens and becomes brown. When the first signs of infection appear, damaged parts must be cut out and burned. The soil around the bush must be dug up, and the plant itself is treated with fungicidal preparations. As a preventative measure, in early spring the soil is dug up and 100 g of bleach is added to each m².

Verticillium wilt appears on lilacs as rusty or brown spots on the leaves, from which they curl and fall off. The disease starts from the top of the plant and quickly spreads throughout the bush. Damaged areas are cut out and burned. The same goes for fallen leaves. For treatment, prepare a solution: 100 g of soda ash and the same amount of laundry soap are diluted in 15 liters of water. The product is used for spraying.

Pest Control

Among the crop pests, the lilac hawkmoth can be a nuisance. This is a large butterfly that is active at night. Lilacs are attacked by large, up to 11 cm in length, caterpillars. At the back of their body they have a dense horn-shaped growth. To kill the insect, use a 1% concentration of Phthalofos solution.

On a lilac hedge you can see small caterpillars of the lilac moth. These voracious creatures completely destroy the buds, flowers and leaves of the plant, leaving behind only coiled veins. To combat the pest, use Karbofos and Fozalon according to the instructions.

The lilac leaf mite feeds on sap from lilac leaves. As a result of their influence, the leaves become brown and dry out. To combat the pest, the bushes are sprayed with a solution of copper or iron sulfate. As preventive measures, it is recommended to thin out the crown in time, burn fallen leaves in the fall and feed the crop with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

Kidneys can be damaged by the lilac bud mite. He spends the winter in them and feeds on their juices. This leads to deformation of the buds and the growth of weak, underdeveloped shoots and leaves. To avoid the death of the bush, in early spring the foliage is removed from under it and burned, and young shoots are removed. The soil in the tree trunk circle is dug up to the length of a bayonet and the soil must be turned over. The plant itself is sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate.

The foliage of a lilac bush can be affected by leafminer moths. In this case, first dark spots appear on the leaves, and then they curl up, as if exposed to fire. The plant stops blooming and dies within one to two years. To destroy the insect, the crop is generously sprayed with Bordeaux mixture or Baktofit solution. To prevent infection, plant remains and fallen leaves are removed and burned in the fall. In late autumn and early spring, for the same purpose, they dig deep soil in the tree trunk circle.

Lilac propagation

There are several ways to propagate lilacs and get young bushes. Seed is used very rarely. In the country, the crop is usually propagated by cuttings or root shoots. Vaccinations are less common.

Seedlings available for sale are both self-rooted and grafted. The latter are more capricious and require careful handling. Self-rooted lilacs recover more easily after frosty winters and reproduce well by vegetative means.

Seeds

For getting seed material The boxes are collected in the fall in humid weather. This way they will not open and the seeds will not spill out. The boxes are dried at home for several days, then opened and the seeds are taken out.



Lilac seed pods

Before planting, the seeds are stratified: mixed with moistened sand and placed in containers with drainage holes, then sent to the refrigerator for 2 months. In March they are sown in a box with disinfected soil. Shoots appear after 10 days, but depending on the variety, this period can increase to 3 months. After the second pair of leaves appears, the seedlings are planted in separate pots. They can be planted in open ground in May.

Cuttings

Lignified shoots are not suitable for cuttings; only young green branches are used for this purpose. Cuttings are cut at the beginning of the flowering period; each of them should have 1 internode and 2 buds. The lower cut is made at a distance of 1 cm from the bud, the leaves are torn off. In order for the seedling to take root better, it should be treated with a growth stimulator.

Prepared cuttings are planted to a depth of 1 cm.



Lilac propagation by cuttings

Cuttings can also be rooted at home. To do this, use containers with lids filled with nutritious soil and coarse sand in half. During rooting, maintain a temperature of +25 to +28 °C. Caring for them consists of daily spraying with water. The roots will appear in 30 days, and in the fall they should be planted in an area protected from the wind.

Root shoots

Root shoots can be separated from the beginning of June until the young shoots darken. The procedure is carried out on a cloudy day to prevent drying out of weak roots. It is first recommended to moisten the soil around the mother plant. Boxes with wet sand are prepared in advance and separated shoots, which have small roots 3 to 5 cm long, are transferred into them. After this, they are transplanted into a cold greenhouse, keeping an interval of 5 cm.

In the first week, the greenhouse is kept under film and the cover is removed twice a day for spraying and ventilation. After this, the plants open completely. Irrigate them as needed. After 2 months, the young bushes will get stronger and can be planted in a permanent place. Care consists of timely watering and regular thinning.

Vaccination

Most often, the copulation method is used for grafting. With this method, the shoots of the scion and rootstock should have the same thickness, and their tissues should match as much as possible. Copulation can be done at the root collar into a standard or into the crown. If all steps are performed correctly, the scion site will grow together in 2.5 months.

The procedure should be carried out before the start of sap flow. For simple copulation, oblique cuts are made on the scion and rootstock at an angle of 45 degrees, placed next to each other and tied tightly with twine.

In some cases, English copulation is performed, making additional cuts to the longitudinal axis at an angle of 45 degrees.



Copulation. A - simple, B - English

Grafted plants need careful care. They need to be watered on time, as well as loosen the tree trunk circle and then mulch the soil. The bushes need to be tied to a support.

By layering

When propagating by layering, a furrow is dug next to the mother plant, and then the lower branches of the bush are bent to it. They are attached to the ground with special wooden brackets and covered with soil so that part of the shoot with several buds remains on the surface. By autumn, the branch will take root and can be separated from the mother plant.



Reproduction by layering

Caring for layering involves timely watering. This method is the simplest; it allows you to get several fully developed young bushes in one season. But this option is not suitable for all varieties of lilac.

Lilac is a beautiful flowering shrub that is used for group and single plantings in city parks and on personal plots. Lilac tolerates pruning and shaping, so it can be used to make hedges.

Planting common lilac

The optimal planting time depends on the form in which the seedling goes on sale. Best time for planting seedlings with bare roots – early autumn. Planting lilacs in the fall should be completed before the end of September.

Lilac leaves remain green until frost, so on a seedling intended for autumn planting, they should be green. If a lilac seedling without leaves is a bad sign, which means that the planting period has passed. It needs to be placed in a trench until spring, as is done with fruit tree seedlings.

The timing of planting lilacs in the spring is compressed. You need to have time to get the seedling out of the trench and plant it in a permanent place before the buds open, so it’s better to prepare the hole in the fall - then you won’t have to dig with a shovel frozen ground. Planting lilacs in summer is possible if you purchase a seedling in a container.

Lilacs take root if you don’t make mistakes when planting:

1. Failure to meet deadlines.
2. Planting in acidic, structureless clay soil.
3. Planting in deep shade.
4. Planting in a wetland or temporarily flooded area in a lowland.

Lilac loves light, but it will not die even in partial shade, and will not bloom as magnificently as in the sun. As for the quality of the soil, this plant grows freely even on poor, uncultivated land. But better plant feels fertile loose soil with a reaction close to neutral.

Lilac does not tolerate flooding and soils with a soil solution reaction below 5.5, on which the leaves turn yellow and crumble. To successfully plant lilacs, the soil must be breathable.

How to plant lilacs:

1. They dig a hole. The less cultivated the soil, the larger the hole should be. The free space in the hole is filled with fertile soil mixed with a small amount of compost or peat - up to 1/4 of the volume of the soil. In old gardens, you can dig small holes for lilacs - just enough to fit the roots of the seedling.
2. The grafted lilac is planted so that the grafting site is at soil level. The grafting should not end up in the soil so that the plant does not transfer to its roots. An exception will be seedlings grafted onto Hungarian lilac or privet, which are planted with deep grafting to make them more durable.
3. When planting, rooted lilacs are buried so that additional roots are formed.
4. The roots are covered with fertile soil and trampled down the soil with your foot, forming a hole near the trunk. First you need to make sure that the root collar is at the right level.
5. The hole is generously filled with water.

Planting of Hungarian lilac, as well as Persian and Amur, follows the same rules as in the case of common lilac.

How to care for lilacs

Caring for lilacs is no different from caring for most winter-hardy ornamental shrubs. Lilac tolerates cold, so it does not have to be insulated for the winter. Only in young grafted plants in the year of planting can the tree trunk circles be mulched with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

After planting, the plant is watered abundantly until it begins to grow. Watering lilacs is needed only when necessary - in the heat. Autumn water-recharging watering is not carried out for lilacs.

In the first years, until the lilac blooms, no fertilizer is applied to it. Plants need enough organic matter added to planting holes. Young bushes need loosening the soil, weeding and watering.

The lilac bush begins to bloom in the third year. Then you can start annual feeding. Mineral fertilizers will make the brushes larger, brighter and more fragrant, and increase their number.

In the spring, before flowering, you need to have time to loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle at least once and feed the plant with any complex mineral fertilizer, soluble in water. The roots of lilacs are located superficially, so you need to loosen the soil carefully and shallowly.

Caring for lilacs after flowering

Loosening and watering are stopped by the beginning of August so as not to stimulate the growth of shoots. The wood must have time to ripen by winter, and for this it needs to stop growing in time.

Caution should be exercised only with nitrogen fertilizers, if there is an excess of which the lilac begins to fatten, that is, instead of flowering, it will begin to throw out new shoots and leaves. On the other hand, in order to bloom annually, the bush must produce normal growth, which is impossible without nitrogen. Here you have to look for a “golden mean” - for example, very moderately feed the plant once a season with urea or mullein, and do this in early spring, when the buds are just beginning to wake up.

Unlike nitrogen minerals, phosphorus and potassium minerals will bring nothing but benefits. Phosphorus is added in the fall, at the beginning of October, in the amount of 40 grams. for young and 60 gr. on an adult bush. This element affects the size and quality of flowers.

Potassium makes the plant winter-hardy. After potassium feeding, the flower buds tolerate frost well, do not freeze, and the bush blooms profusely in the spring. Potassium is added along with phosphorus at the rate of 3 tbsp. on a large mature bush.

Lilacs love fertilizing with wood ash, since this substance, unlike mineral fertilizers, does not acidify, but alkalizes the soil. Ash is poured cold water– 1 glass per 10 liters, leave for 2 days and pour 2 buckets of this infusion onto each bush. But first you need to water the plants with clean water so as not to burn the roots.

The bushes are fed with ash twice a season: immediately after flowering, when new flower buds are formed, and in October. If ash is added, there is no need to add mineral fertilizers in the fall.

Lilac pruning

Lilac is grown as a bush with several skeletal branches extending from the ground, but if desired, you can form it into a tree on a low trunk. In both cases, the bush will need enough space.

If the task is to obtain a harmoniously developed bush that will decorate the area with abundant flowering and beautiful shape, then, when choosing a place to plant a seedling, make sure that neighboring plants, fences and buildings are no closer than 1.2-2 m.

Growing lilacs

In order for lilacs to receive proper care, pruning must be systematic. The bush will have an attractive shape and will bloom annually.

Custom

Pruning begins when the plant begins to form skeletal branches. This happens in the third year.

The skeletal branches will later become the basis of the bush. Of course, the bush itself will form them. By intervening in this process in time, you can positively influence the future shape and size of the bush.

In the third year, early in the spring, while the buds are still dormant and the branches are not hidden by foliage and are clearly visible, up to 10 evenly spaced branches are found on the plant, which must be left. The remaining branches are cut off.

In the future, they limit themselves to sanitary pruning, cutting out in early spring the branches growing inside the crown, dried out over the winter and damaged by pests. If necessary, sanitary pruning can be carried out at any time during the growing season. Wild shoots are removed from grafted lilacs in the spring.

When the lilac blooms, without damaging the plant, you can cut off more than half of the flowering shoots and use them to create bouquets. If you do not cut them, then next year fewer shoots will form and flowering will be weak. It is better to immediately remove faded brushes from the branches with pruning shears so that they do not spoil the appearance of the bush.

It is better to cut lilac flowers early in the morning, before the dew dries. To keep the flowers in water longer, the ends of the shoots should be split with a hammer or knife.

A bush older than 10 years can be rejuvenated by removing one skeletal branch per year. New skeletal branches are formed from dormant buds, which will bloom on the trunk next to the marks from the cut branches.

In the form of a tree

1. Immediately after planting, remove all side branches, if any.
2. When the seedling begins to grow, all its side branches are removed while they are green and weak, leaving a stem growing upward.
3. When the stem reaches the desired height - in the second year, its top is pinched. Afterwards it will stop growing upward and become a standard.
4. After pinching the top, dormant buds will awaken in the upper part of the trunk, from which several shoots will begin to grow upward. Of these, you can leave as many as the number of skeletal branches expected for the future tree.

Experience shows that the optimal height of the trunk for lilac is 80-100 cm, and the upper 30 cm of the trunk should be occupied by lateral branches. With a lower trunk - 50 cm, the tree does not look like a standard one, and with a tall one it is difficult to carry out sanitary pruning and cut off flower clusters.

Creating a lilac hedge

Amur lilac is suitable for use as a hedge, because after pruning the branches do not stretch upward as much as in other species. The low-growing Mayer lilac is also suitable.

Seedlings for the hedge, which is supposed to be cut annually at a height below human height, are planted a meter apart from each other. Such a hedge will not bloom, but it looks neat. For a flowering hedge, lilac bushes are planted 1.5 meters from each other.

In the second year, young, not yet lignified branches of neighboring bushes are intertwined with each other like a fishing net, securing them in this position with rope or soft wire. When such a fence grows, neither a person nor a large animal can cross it.

Lilac grows quickly, and with regular watering, already in the third year it forms a thick green “fence” that you can start cutting. High hedges are trimmed after flowering, low hedges - at any time.

Lilac propagation

Lilacs can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively. With the seed method, parental characteristics are not preserved, therefore the only method of propagating planting material is vegetative, and seed is used only to obtain new varieties.

Methods of vegetative propagation of lilac:

• vaccination;
• layering;
• green cuttings.

Reproduction by grafting allows you to quickly obtain a large amount of planting material of equal height. The method is available only to gardeners with skills.

Lilacs are grafted by cuttings or budding. For the rootstock, take Hungarian lilac or privet.

“Hungarian” and privet are not very successful rootstocks for common lilac, since in this case two different species are fused into one whole. The resulting plant will not last long. The lifespan depends on a lot of factors and ranges from 2-20 years.

"Hungarian" and privet are often used in nurseries as rootstocks. The fact is that seedlings grafted onto them come to the middle zone from the southern regions. Privet is cut and transported, but in reality it is an unreliable rootstock, valuable only for its cheapness.

More convenient for the gardener are self-rooted seedlings obtained from layering in amateur conditions or cuttings in industrial conditions. Self-rooted plants are durable and do not produce wild growth. Not all varieties of lilac are propagated by layering under amateur conditions, this especially applies to modern - fashionable and sophisticated varieties.

Propagation by cuttings

Cuttings are harvested during flowering or immediately after. Branches from the middle part of the crown, except for the top ones, are suitable for cuttings. Cuttings are cut from the branches, each with 2 internodes.

Leaves are removed from the lower node. The top pair of leaf blades is cut in half.

The cuttings are dipped in a heteroauxin solution for several hours and planted in a greenhouse in a 1:1 mixture of sand and peat, under plastic film or cut plastic bottles. The air under the film should be moist all the time, for which the cuttings are sprayed daily with a spray bottle and the soil is watered. Roots on cuttings appear no earlier than after 1.5 months.

After the roots grow, the greenhouse is ventilated, starting from several hours a day. Then the shelter is removed, leaving the cuttings to harden under open air and don’t forget to water and weed. The cuttings are left to overwinter here, and the next year in the fall they are dug up and transplanted to a permanent place.

At the beginning of May, it is pleasant to sit in the garden under a blooming lilac bush, inhaling the fresh and recognizable aroma. Planting and caring for it are not difficult, but a beautiful plant is worth devoting a little time and effort to it. It responds to any, even the most modest care, responding with lush and long-lasting flowering.

A shrub such as lilac is a member of the olive family. According to information taken from various sources, this genus includes from 22 to 36 species. In nature, such species can be found in the mountainous regions of Eurasia. The genus lilac has type species- common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Under natural conditions, such a shrub can be found along the lower reaches of the Danube, on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Southern Carpathians. Lilac is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and it is also used to strengthen and protect slopes that are subject to erosion. In the second half of the 16th century, the Roman ambassador brought lilacs to European countries from Constantinople, and since that time this plant has appeared in the gardens of Europe. The Turks called this shrub “lilac”, and the inhabitants of Germany, Flanders and Austria gave it the name “lilac” or “Turkish viburnum”.

At first, lilac was not in great demand among European gardeners, because it did not bloom long, and the loose inflorescences with small flowers were not highly decorative. But everything changed after the Frenchman V. Lemoine received several dozen varieties of this plant, which were distinguished by their lush and long flowering, as well as beautiful dense inflorescences with the correct shape. He also managed to develop several varieties with double flowers of various colors. Emile Lemoine continued his father's activities, as did his son Henri. Thanks to the Lemoines, 214 varieties of lilac were born. Among the French lilac breeders who paid attention were: Auguste Gouchot, Charles Baltet and Francois Marel. At the same time, in Germany, Wilhelm Pfitzer and Ludwig Speth worked on developing new varieties of lilac. In Holland, at the beginning of the 20th century, new varieties of this shrub were born, and Klaas Kessen, Dirk Evelens Maarse, Jan van Tol and Hugo Coster worked on this, and the Polish breeder Karpov-Lipski also worked in this direction.

At the beginning of the 20th century, lilac became quite popular in North America, and new varieties were born thanks to breeders such as John Dunbar, Gulda Klager, Theodor Havemeyer and other fairly well-known specialists from Canada and the USA. Also, new varieties of lilac were bred in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Today, there are more than 2,300 varieties of this plant, which differ in color, size and shape of flowers, flowering time, habit and size of bushes. 2/3 of all varieties were bred using common lilac.

Features of lilac

Lilac is a deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub whose height varies from 2 to 8 meters. The diameter of the trunks is about 0.2 meters. The color of the bark is brown-gray or gray. Young trunks are covered with smooth bark, while old ones are covered with fissured bark.

The foliage blooms relatively early, and it remains on the branches until the onset of frost. The length of the opposite leaf plates is about 12 centimeters; as a rule, they are solid, but they can also be pinnately divided. In different species, the leaf shape may differ; for example, it can be heart-shaped, oval, ovoid, or elongated, pointed at the top. The foliage color is dark or pale green. The length of the terminal drooping panicle-shaped inflorescences is about 0.2 m; they contain flowers that can be colored lilac, blue, pink, white, purple or violet. The flowers have a short four-toothed bell-shaped calyx, 2 stamens and a corolla with a four-part flat limb and a long cylindrical tube. Many people are interested in when exactly lilac flowers bloom. This depends on several factors, namely: the species, weather and climatic conditions. Such a shrub can bloom from the last days of April to the first days of June. When lilacs bloom, the garden is filled with a unique, delicate and very pleasant aroma. The fruit is a bivalve capsule containing several winged seeds.

If you provide the plant with maximum favorable conditions, then its life expectancy can be approximately 100 years. Lilac is very easy to care for, it is frost-resistant and is one of the most popular ornamental shrubs along with hydrangea and mock orange (garden jasmine).

Planting lilacs in the garden

What time to plant

The best time to plant lilacs is open ground is the period from mid-July to the first days of September. Plant such a shrub in spring or autumn time It is not recommended, since it does not take root well and hardly grows for 1 year. For planting, choose a sunny place with moderately moist soil, saturated with humus, and its acidity should be 5.0–7.0.

When purchasing seedlings, be sure to carefully inspect their root system. You should choose a plant with a well-developed and branched root system. Before planting a seedling, all injured roots that have begun to dry out and are damaged by disease should be cut out; the remaining roots should be shortened to 0.3 m. Injured stems should be removed, and excessively long ones should be shortened.

Landing Features

When planting several seedlings, do not forget to leave 2 to 3 meters (depending on the type and variety) of empty space between them. When preparing a hole for planting, it should be taken into account that it must have steep walls. If the soil fertility is high or average, then the size of the pit will be 0.5x0.5x0.5 meters. If the soil is poor or sandy, then the hole needs to be made 2 times larger, because during planting the seedling it will be necessary to fill it with a nutritious soil mixture, which includes: humus or compost (from 15 to 20 kilograms), wood ash (from 200 up to 300 grams) and superphosphate (from 20 to 30 grams). You need to take 2 times more wood ash if the soil on the site is acidic.

At the bottom of the pit you need to make a good drainage layer; for this you can use crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick. Then the nutrient mixture is poured into the hole so that a mound is formed. Next, the plant is placed in the center of the hole directly on the mound. After its root system is straightened, the hole must be completely filled with soil mixture. For planted lilacs, the root collar should rise 30–40 mm above the surface of the area. The planted shrub needs to be watered thoroughly. When the liquid is completely absorbed into the soil, its surface will need to be covered with a layer of mulch (peat or humus), the thickness of which should be within 5–7 centimeters.

Caring for lilacs in the garden

Growing lilacs in your garden is very simple, especially since caring for them does not take much time from the gardener. This shrub can grow without your participation, but it will be very good if from the beginning to the middle summer period you will provide it with systematic watering as the soil dries, and 2.5–3 buckets of water should be poured under 1 bush at a time. During the season, you will need to loosen the surface of the tree trunk circle 3 or 4 times to a depth of 4 to 7 centimeters. Also, do not forget to remove weeds in a timely manner. In August and September, such a plant needs to be watered only when there is a prolonged drought. After 5 or 6 years, the lilac will become a very impressive dense bush.

For the first 2 or 3 years, lilacs are fed only with a small amount of nitrogen. Starting from the second year, ammonium nitrate is added to each bush in an amount of 65 to 80 grams or urea in an amount of 50 to 60 grams. But experienced gardeners recommend feeding lilacs with organic matter; to do this, pour 10–30 liters of slurry under the bush (cow manure should be dissolved in water in a ratio of 5:1). To begin with, make a not very deep groove around the bush, stepping back from the trunks at least 50 cm. You need to pour the nutrient mixture into it.

Once every 2 or 3 years, the plant is fed with phosphorus and potassium; for this, 1 adult bush should take from 35 to 40 grams of double superphosphate and from 30 to 35 grams of potassium nitrate. The granules should be buried 6–8 centimeters into the tree trunk circle, then the plant should be watered mandatory. However, lilac responds best to fertilizing with a complex fertilizer consisting of 8 liters of water and 0.2 kilograms of wood ash.

Transfer

Gardeners with considerable experience strongly recommend replanting the shrub after 1 or 2 years from the date of planting. The fact is that such a plant very quickly consumes all the nutrients present in the soil, even despite systematic feeding. In this regard, after 2 years, the soil will no longer be able to provide the lilac with the necessary energy for lush and incredibly spectacular flowering and rapid growth.

Three-year-old bushes are transplanted no earlier than August. Young plants must be replanted immediately after flowering at the end of spring, otherwise they will not be able to take root properly before the first frost. The hole for transplantation must be made in exactly the same way as for planting. Then you should inspect the plant and cut out injured, dried out or unnecessary stems and branches. The shrub is dug up along the projection of the crown perimeter and pulled out of the ground along with a lump of earth. Next, it is placed on thick fabric or oilcloth and moved to a new planting site. The size of the new hole should be such that it can accommodate not only a bush with a lump of earth, but also a sufficiently large amount of fertile soil.

Trimming

Before the bush turns 2 years old, it does not need to be pruned, since the skeletal branches are still in the formation stage at this time. In the third year of lilac life, the formation of its crown should begin; this process will take from 2 to 3 years. Pruning is done in the spring, before sap flow begins and before the buds swell. To do this, select from 5 to 7 beautiful branches equidistant from each other, and remove the remaining ones. Don't forget to cut out all the root growth. Next year you will need to remove about ½ of the flowering stems. The main principle of pruning is that one skeletal branch should have no more than eight healthy buds, while the excess part of the branch must be removed to avoid overloading the bush during flowering. Simultaneously with the formation of the bush, sanitary pruning is also carried out. To do this, you should remove all injured, drying, frost-damaged or disease-damaged branches and shoots, as well as those that are not growing properly.

If desired, lilacs can be shaped into a tree. To do this, you need to choose a seedling with a powerful, straight, vertical branch. It is necessary to shorten it to the height of the trunk, and then from the shoots that will grow, it is necessary to form 5 or 6 skeletal branches, and do not forget to regularly free the stem and the trunk circle from the growth. After you finish forming the standard lilac, you will only need to thin out the crown every year.

Caring for lilacs during flowering

When the weather becomes warm outside in spring, the lilac will begin to bloom, and its very delicate aroma will attract a huge number of beetles. It is necessary to remove cockchafers from bushes manually. During active flowering, approximately 60 percent of all flowering stems will need to be removed. This procedure is called pruning “for a bouquet”; it is necessary to ensure that young stems form more intensively, as well as to increase the number of flower buds laid for the next year. To extend the life of a lilac bouquet, you need to cut it early in the morning, and do not forget to split the lower part of the cut branch. At the end of flowering, cut off all the inflorescences that have begun to fade from the bush.

Pests and diseases of lilac with photo examples

Lilac has a fairly high resistance to diseases and pests. But in some cases, it can develop bacterial necrosis, bacterial rot, powdery mildew or verticillium. Hawk moths, leaf miners, bud or leaf mites, and lilac moths can also settle on the bush.

Bacterial, or nectrium, necrosis

If in August the green foliage changed its color to gray-ashy, and at the same time the young shoots turned brown or brown, this means that the bush is infected with bacterial (nectria) necrosis. For prevention purposes, it is recommended to systematically thin out the crown of the plant to improve ventilation, cut off areas affected by the disease and promptly get rid of pests. If the damage to the bush is significant, then it will need to be dug up and destroyed.

Bacterial rot

Bacterial rot damages the foliage, flowers, stems and buds of the plant. In some cases, wet spots appear on the root surface and grow very quickly. As the disease develops, the foliage loses turgor and dries out, but its fall does not occur immediately; drying and bending of the stems is also observed. In order to cure lilacs, it is necessary to carry out 3 or 4 sprays with copper oxychloride, and the interval between procedures should be 1.5 weeks.

Powdery mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that can harm both young and old shrubs. A loose whitish-gray coating appears on the surface of the foliage; over time, it thickens and becomes brown. The progression of this disease is observed in hot, dry summers. Treatment of the plant should begin as soon as the first signs of the disease are noticed. The first step is to cut out and destroy all areas affected by the disease, then spray the bush with a fungicide. At the very beginning of the spring period, you should dig up the soil with bleach (100 grams per 1 square meter), while trying not to injure root system bush.

Verticillium wilt

If you notice that the lilac foliage is curling up, brown or rusty spots appear on its surface, and they gradually dry out and die, then this is a sign of another fungal disease - verticillium wilt. The bush begins to dry out from the top, and the disease spreads extremely quickly. The affected bush should be treated with a solution consisting of 1.5 buckets of water, 100 grams of soda ash and the same amount of laundry soap. Also good results shows spraying of bushes with Abiga-Peak. Cut out all infected areas and destroy them along with the fallen leaves.

Lilac Hawkmoth

The Lilac Hawkmoth is a large butterfly with a marbled pattern on its front wings and prefers a nocturnal lifestyle. In the caterpillar stage, this pest reaches 11 centimeters in length. It can be distinguished from other pests by a dense growth similar to a horn located in the back of the body. The hawkmoth caterpillar settles not only on lilacs, but also on meadowsweet, currants, viburnum, ash and grapes. To get rid of such a pest, you will need to treat the bush with a solution of Phthalophos (1%).

Lilac moth

The lilac moth prefers to live on hedges and in light forests. In one season, such a pest can produce 2 generations. Its small caterpillars eat up flowers, buds and buds completely, and all that remains of the leaf plates are the veins, rolled into a tube. The affected bush should be sprayed with Fozalon or Karbofos.

Lilac leaf mite

The lilac leaf mite is a very small insect, which feeds on lilac plant sap, sucking it from the lower surface of the foliage. The leaves gradually dry out and change their color to brown. For prevention purposes, you should spray the lilac foliage with a solution of iron or copper sulfate, and also systematically thin out the crown and fertilize the plant with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. Don’t forget to collect and destroy fallen leaves in autumn.

Lilac bud mite

The lilac bud mite spends its entire life in the buds of the plant. It sucks the juice out of them, and also survives the winter in the kidneys. As a result, the buds are deformed, the stems and foliage growing from them are underdeveloped and weak, there is no flowering and over time the plant may die. For preventive purposes, at the very beginning of the spring period (after the frosts are left behind), it is necessary to remove all fallen leaves and cut off the root shoots, then dig up the soil in the tree trunk circle to the fullest extent with turning the soil, and then the bush is treated with a solution of copper sulfate.

Mining moth

Mining moths can harm lilac foliage. At first, many brown dark spots (min) appear on its surface, and after some time the plates curl into a tube as if from fire. Affected plants do not flower, and after 1 or 2 years they die. To get rid of such moths, it is necessary to generously spray the foliage with a solution of Baktofit or Fitosporin-M, or you can use Bordeaux mixture. IN for preventive purposes In the autumn, it is mandatory to collect and destroy plant residues, while before frosts and at the very beginning of the spring period, it is necessary to deeply dig up the soil in the tree trunk circle.

Lilac propagation

This plant is propagated by seeds only by specialists in nurseries. To propagate varietal lilacs, gardeners use vegetative methods such as layering, grafting and cuttings. If desired, you can purchase grafted seedlings or self-rooted ones obtained from cuttings or layering. The advantages of own-rooted lilacs over grafted ones are that they are less demanding, recover relatively quickly after wintering, and can be easily propagated by vegetative methods. Own-rooted lilac has greater durability.

Lilac propagation by grafting

The following rootstocks are used for varietal lilacs: Hungarian lilac, common lilac and common privet. You can bud a shrub in the summer with a dormant bud, and in the spring an awakening bud is used for this. It is recommended to vaccinate in the spring, since at this time more than 80 percent of the cuttings take root. In order to produce spring vaccination, cuttings are harvested in February or March, then they are wrapped in paper sheet and placed on the refrigerator shelf (temperature 0–4 degrees). To take cuttings, mature annual shoots covered with browned bark are used.

The preparation of the rootstock should also be done in advance. To do this, you need to cut the side stems to a height of 15 to 20 centimeters and cut out all the root shoots. The root collar of the rootstock should not be thinner than a pencil, and the bark should be well separated from the wood; for this, the plant must be provided with systematic abundant watering 7 days before grafting. On the day of grafting, first, all soil is removed from the root collar of the rootstock. Next, take a clean, damp cloth and wipe the grafting site with it. Split the rootstock stump in the center to a depth of 30 mm using a budding knife. The lower end of the scion cutting must be cleaned on both sides to a height of 30 mm, and the result should be a wedge. It is necessary to insert a scion wedge into the split of the rootstock so that the area cleared of bark is completely immersed in the split. After this, the grafting site must be wrapped with tape, with its sticky surface facing outward. Next, the damage and the places from which the buds were cut are treated, using garden varnish. Then a plastic bag should be put on the grafted cuttings, and it should be fixed just below the grafting site, this will help create a greenhouse effect. The package should be removed only after swelling of the buds is noticed on the scion.

To carry out this procedure, choose a dry sunny day. The vaccination must be carried out from 16 to 20 pm or from 5 to 10 am.

Lilac propagation by layering

In spring, you need to find a young stem that has begun to become lignified. It should be tied with copper wire at the base and in another place, retreating from the first 0.8 m, while trying to ensure that the bark remains uninjured. Then the shoot is placed in a previously prepared groove, the depth of which is from 15 to 20 mm. It is fixed in this position using pins, so that only the upper part remains on the surface. After some time, young stems will begin to grow upward from the layering; after their height is 15–17 centimeters, these shoots must be covered with nutritious soil, and they are covered with earth at least half the height. IN summer time provide the layering with systematic watering and weeding, and add soil under the stems that have begun to grow 1 or 2 times during the season. After it gets colder outside, you should cut off the cuttings in the places where the constriction is constricted. It will need to be cut so that each part has a shoot with roots. Such a division can be planted on a school bed for growing, and if desired, it can be planted in open soil in a permanent place. Young bushes planted in open ground need shelter for the winter.

Lilac propagation by cuttings

Cuttings of this shrub are quite difficult to root, and in order for this procedure to end successfully, two important rules must be taken into account:

1. Harvesting cuttings must begin as soon as the plant fades or do it during flowering.
2. Cuttings are cut in the morning from young bushes. For this purpose, non-lignified stems located inside the crown, which have an average thickness, short internodes and 2 to 3 nodes, are suitable.

The cut at the top is made at a right angle, and at the bottom - obliquely. The leaf plates located in the lower part of the cutting must be torn off, and those in the upper part must be shortened by ½ part. Next, an oblique cut of the cuttings is immersed in a solution of a root growth stimulating agent. He must stay there for at least 16 hours.

To ensure that the cuttings take root well, prepare a cutting box or greenhouse. For rooting, it is recommended to use a substrate consisting of peat and sand (1:1). If desired, sand is partially replaced with perlite. First, the container needs to be sterilized, then a twenty-centimeter thick layer of soil is poured into it, which must first be treated with Maxim or Fundazol. On top of this soil, a five-centimeter thick layer should be placed, consisting of calcined river sand. To begin, the tips of the cuttings should be rinsed using clean water to remove any remaining root material. Then the cuttings are buried in a layer of sand and such a distance is maintained between them so that the foliage of one plant does not touch the leaves of the neighboring one. The planted cuttings need to be moistened with a spray bottle, and then they are covered with a lid, which must be transparent. If an ordinary box or container is used for cuttings, then to cover the cuttings, take a 5 liter plastic bottle and cut off the neck. Turn this container over and cover the cutting with it. Cuttings for rooting are removed in partial shade. Please note that the sand in the container should not dry out. Systematically humidify the air under the cover using a spray bottle, since the percentage of air humidity there should be equal to 100. To prevent fungal diseases, you should spray the cuttings with a weak solution of potassium manganese once every 7 days.

Rooting of cuttings can take from 40 to 60 days. Then they will need to be ventilated every day in the evening, after some time the shelter must be removed for good. When roots appear in the summer, the cuttings will need to be planted in a well-lit area, and the soil should be slightly acidic and light. For wintering they need to be covered with spruce branches. If the roots appear at the end of summer or autumn, then the plants are left for the winter at the rooting site; they can be planted in a permanent place only in the spring. Shrubs grown from cuttings begin to bloom in the 5th year.

Lilac propagation by seeds

If you have a great desire to grow lilacs from seeds, then, of course, you can try. Seeds are collected in autumn in rainy weather. The collected boxes should be dried at room temperature for several days. The extracted seeds should be stratified. The seeds are combined with moistened sand (1:3), the mixture is poured into a container or bag and put in the refrigerator on the vegetable shelf. She must stay there for 8 weeks. It should be noted that the sand should always be slightly damp.

The seeds are sown in the second decade of March and buried 1.5 cm into the soil. For sowing, garden soil is used, which must be fried or steamed. The surface of the substrate must be moistened with a spray bottle. The first seedlings may appear in 2–12 weeks. Half a month after the appearance of the seedlings, they must be planted, keeping a distance of 40 mm between the plants. Once the weather is warm outside, the seedlings can be transplanted into open ground.

Seeds can be sown before winter in slightly frozen soil. In this case, there is no need to pre-stratify the seeds. In spring, seedlings will appear that need to be picked and sent for growing.

Lilac after flowering

Mature lilacs have high winter hardiness and do not need shelter for the winter. However, the tree trunk circle of young plants must be insulated with fallen leaves and peat, and the layer thickness should be 10 centimeters. It happens that in winter, varietal lilacs are damaged by frost; therefore, in the spring it will be necessary to prune the stems damaged in winter.

Types and varieties of lilacs with photos and names

There are approximately 30 types of lilac, most of which can be found in gardens and parks. Below is a description of the most popular types and varieties of such shrubs.

Amur lilac (Syringa amurensis)

This shade-loving hygrophyte is found in deciduous forests Far East and northeastern China. This species needs well-moistened soil. It is represented by a multi-stemmed tree that has a spreading, lush crown. The height of the plant is about 20 meters. This species is cultivated as a shrub, the height of which does not exceed 10 meters. The shape of the foliage of this plant is similar to the leaf blades of common lilac. When the leaves just bloom, they have a purple-green color; in the summer, their front surface is dark green, and the back is paler. In autumn, the color of the foliage changes to yellow-orange or purple. The length of the strong panicle-shaped inflorescences is about 25 centimeters, they consist of small white or cream flowers with a honey smell. This plant is frost-resistant and does not need shelter for the winter. It is grown both solo and in group plantings, and this shrub is also suitable for creating a hedge. Cultivated since 1855

Hungarian lilac (Syringa josikaea)

The homeland of this species is Hungary, the Carpathians and countries former Yugoslavia. The height of the bush is about 7 meters. Branched dense stems point upward. The glossy dark green leaf blades, broadly elliptical in shape, reach a length of 12 centimeters and have a ciliated edge. The lower surface of the leaf blades is greenish-gray; the central vein sometimes has pubescence. Rare narrow paniculate inflorescences are divided into tiers. They consist of small lilac flowers with a slight odor. This plant is unpretentious, resistant to city conditions, and is widely used for creating group and single plantings. Cultivated since 1830. Popular garden forms:

1. Pale. The color of the flowers is light purple.
2. Red. The inflorescences are purple-red.

Meyer lilac (Syringa meyeri)

The compact plant reaches a height of only 150 cm. The length of the small leaf plates is from 20 to 40 mm, their shape is elliptical, they taper towards the apex, and have a ciliated edge. The front surface of the foliage is bare dark green, while the underside is paler and has pubescence along the veins. The length of the erect inflorescences is 3–10 centimeters, they consist of fragrant pale flowers of pink-lilac color. The species is frost-resistant.

Persian lilac (Syringa x persica)

This hybrid was obtained by crossing finely cut lilac and Afghan lilac. The height of the bush is about 3 meters. The length of the dense thin leaves is about 7.5 centimeters, they are pointed and lanceolate in shape. Wide loose panicle-shaped inflorescences consist of fragrant pale lilac flowers, the diameter of which is 20 mm. Cultivated since 1640. Popular forms:

1. White lilac. The color of the flowers is white.
2. Red lilac with red flowers.
3. Dissected foliage. This dwarf Persian lilac has spreading branches and small, pinnately lobed, lacy leaf blades.

Chinese lilac (Syringa x chinensis)

This hybrid was obtained by crossing Persian lilac and common lilac. This species was obtained in France in 1777. The height of the bush is about 5 meters. The length of the ovate-lanceolate pointed leaf plates is about 10 centimeters. The length of the wide-pyramidal drooping panicle-shaped inflorescences is approximately 10 centimeters, they consist of very fragrant flowers, the diameter of which is 1.8 cm. In buds, the flowers are colored a rich purple color, and when they bloom they are lilac-red. Popular shapes:

1. Double. The color of the double flowers is purple.
2. Pale purple.
3. Dark purple. This form is the most spectacular of all related to Chinese lilac.

Hyacinth lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora)

This hybrid is the result of the work of V. Lemoine. It is created using common lilac and broadleaf lilac. The leaf blades have a sharp tip and a broadly ovate or heart-shaped shape. In autumn, their dark green color changes to purple-brown. The flowers are similar to those of common lilac, but the inflorescences are less dense and smaller. Cultivated since 1899. The terry form is most effective; there are several other popular forms:

1. Esther Staley. The color of the buds is red-violet, and the fragrant flowers are a rich red-violet. The diameter of the flowers is about 20 mm, their petals bend back. The length of the inflorescences is about 16 centimeters.
2. Churchill. The color of the buds is violet-red, and the blossoming fragrant flowers are lilac-silver with a pinkish tint.
3. Puple Glory. Dense inflorescences consist of large (diameter 35 mm) simple flowers of purple color.

Common lilac has been cultivated since 1583; it has a large number of varieties created by both domestic and foreign breeders. For example:

1. Red Moscow. The color of the buds is purple-violet, and the fragrant flowers are dark purple. They reach 20 mm in diameter and have yellow stamens.
2. Violet. Cultivated since 1916. The buds are dark purple, and the double and semi-double large (diameter about 30 mm) flowers are pale purple. They have a faint odor.
3. Primrose. The buds are yellow-green and the flowers are pale yellow.
4. Belicent. The bush is straight and tall. The length of the fragrant openwork pink-coral inflorescences is about 0.3 m. The shape of the large, slightly corrugated leaf plates is oval.

In addition to these varieties of garden lilac, the following are popular: Belle de Nancy, Monique Lemoine, Amethyst, Ami Schott, Vesuvius, Vestal, Galina Ulanova, Joan of Arc, Cavour, Soviet Arctic, Defenders of Brest, Captain Balte, Katerina Havemeyer, Congo, Leonid Leonov, Madame Charles Suchet, Madame Casimir Perrier, Dream, Miss Ellen Wilmott, Montaigne, Nadezhda, Lights of Donbass, Memory of Kolesnikov, Sensation, Charles Joly, Celia, etc.

Gardeners also grow the following types: Beijing lilac, drooping, Japanese, Preston, Juliana, Komarova, Yunnan, fine-haired, shaggy, Zvegintsev, Nansen, Henry, Wolf and velvety.

Garden lilac always pleases with its delicate aroma, so be sure to plant a bush on your site. It is not capricious, grows quickly and blooms actively the next year. Our article covers the basic rules for planting and caring for this plant, and useful tips will help you easily grow a beautiful lilac on your site.

How and when to plant

The optimal time to purchase lilac seedlings is early autumn. It is then that the rhizomes will take root well in the new place, and the overwintered plant will actively bud in the spring.

The selected specimen should have green leaves, because if they dry out or turn yellow ahead of schedule, they indicate problems and diseases of the root system.

Summer planting of lilacs is possible if the seedling is purchased in a container. In this case, you should not wait until next year for the first buds, but once the plant has taken root in a new place, it will readily grow and develop.

What is needed for planting:

• Quite a spacious hole. On poor soils, it needs to be made approximately 90x90 centimeters, taking into account fertilizing and added peat.
• Non-acidic and non-clayey soil. If the soil acidity is below 5.5 Ph, it must be corrected. Wood ash, lime and eggshells are used for this.
• A well-lit landing site. It is advisable to choose the southern and southeastern parts of the site.
• A slight elevation to prevent moisture from accumulating. Lilacs can also be grown on marshy soils, but only if good drainage is provided.
• Adding fertile soil, humus and peat to the hole will speed up the growth of the seedling. There will be enough feeding for the first year, so a further portion is applied in the next season.
• After planting, the roots are trampled down well and then watered abundantly. For one seedling it is necessary to spend at least 10 - 15 liters of water. The volume will depend on the density of the soil, as well as the hole dug. It will also be interesting to learn about how cleome is planted from seeds.

Lilac tolerates partial shade well, but sufficient illumination is an indispensable attribute of successful growth. The plant is also undemanding in terms of soil composition and can grow well even on poor soil, but its acidity is of great importance. If the soil does not meet these requirements, additional liming is necessary, otherwise the plant will die. To illuminate the plant, you can use outdoor lighting at home.

On the video - how to plant and care for lilacs:

Winter shelter for lilacs is best organized using mulch. You need to pour at least a bucket of the crushed mixture onto the roots, then cover it with boards or sticks. After this, watering is not advisable so that rot does not form on the roots.

How to care

There are a lot of varieties of lilac; literally every year new varieties grafted by breeders go on sale. At the same time, caring for these shrubs is simple and it does not matter what type of lilac we are talking about.

An important point: pruning the bush. If desired, you can form a neat tree from any variety. To do this, pruning is done in early spring and after flowering. Lilac tolerates this procedure well; it is believed that pruned branches will produce more luxuriant and brighter blooms next year.

However, there are some peculiarities. If lilac is preferred in the form of a bush, pruning of the side shoots is carried out with a minimum amount to allow several trunks of the plant to develop at once.

To form a stamped tree, approximately in the third year of growth, the lilac is pruned at a height of 100 - 120 centimeters so that it looks neater. In this case, it is necessary to trim and trim the side shoots, preventing strong growth of branches.

You might also be interested in learning what a hawthorn hedge looks like.

Basic growing rules:

1. Mandatory loosening of the soil. In soils that are too heavy and wet, lilacs grow poorly and may shed their leaves and wither. Loosening is carried out relatively shallowly so as not to damage the roots.
2. Moderate watering. The lilac root system is well developed, so lack of moisture will not be a significant threat. Active watering occurs before the lilac begins to bloom, after which it is reduced to weekly. To do this, you can use the gardena automatic watering system.
3. Young bushes are not fed until the first inflorescences appear. Until this time, the fertilizer applied during planting will be enough for them.
4. A flowering plant is fed once a year to make the flowers brighter and larger.
5. Plants are not watered or fertilized after flowering, so as not to stimulate shoot growth before wintering. Typically the deadline is early August.
6. Care must be taken to feed lilacs with nitrogen fertilizers.. They stimulate the formation of shoots and leaves, but can completely stop flowering.
7. Including phosphorus in the diet as a supplement will help the formation of beautiful and lush inflorescences. Consumption is calculated from the norm at 40-60 grams per bush, depending on its size.
8. Can be used wood ash, which alkalizes the soil. You need to add at least two tablespoons to each bush, mixing it with water.
9. Lilacs are propagated by cuttings that can be dug from the parent bush.. After the seedling takes root, the connection is broken, and the sprout can be dug up and replanted. But this article will help you understand how Chrysanthemum cuttings are planted.
10. In order for only large inflorescences to form on the branches, it is necessary to remove up to 25% of flower buds at the stage of their formation.
11. It is best to cut lilac flowers in the morning or late evening. Be sure to use pruning shears for this so as not to injure the branches.

It will also be interesting to learn more about what the forsythia shrub looks like in the photo, as well as how it should be planted.

In the video - growing lilacs:

On the site, lilac can be used as a hedge. For this they land low-growing varieties, which are easier to trim and shape. The seedlings must be planted at a distance of no more than one meter from each other along the perimeter of the future fence. Approximately in the second year of growth, the branches must be woven together and secured with soft wire or twine.

For decorative effect the resulting hedge is trimmed after flowering, and if this is not planned, in early spring.

Blooming lilac - extraordinary beautiful decoration your site. Delicate inflorescences give an indescribable aroma, and cheerful foliage will delight the eye until late autumn. The types of lilac are impossible to describe, and the unpretentiousness of this shrub has long been a good “springboard” for beginners in gardening. Basic Rules successful landing and cultivation of this plant are described in detail in the information in our article.

Lilac is one of the most beloved shrubs, the flowering of which is associated with the real onset of spring. The divine aromas emanating during this period fascinate and make you fall in love with yourself. Thanks to its thick, lush crown, the plant is often used to form green walls that shield a certain area from prying eyes.

Belonging to the olive family, lilac is one of the main inhabitants of gardens and personal plots. Externally, this luxurious shrub is characterized by large purple, pink or white flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences located at the ends of the branches. The fruit is a dry bivalve capsule. The leaves are green, most often entire, less often pinnately divided; fall off for the winter. Lilac, planting and caring for which in household practically reduced to a minimum, has high hardiness, grows well in the open air.

The most popular types of lilac

By variety, lilacs, which are quite easy to plant and care for, are divided into simple and double. The most widespread is the common lilac, a native of the Balkan Peninsula, on the territory of which it grows at high altitudes and clings with its roots to steep rocky slopes. Blooms in May with purple and white flowers. There are multiple varieties.

Persian lilac. Characterized by fragrant purple flowers. Some of its varieties have pinnately split leaves. The flowers are white.

Chinese lilac. It is a hybrid of common and Persian. Characterized by large red-purple flowers.

Hungarian lilac. The flowers are purple, with a subtle aroma. Flowering occurs in late May - June.

Lilac: planting and care in open ground

The landing site should be well lit; with a lack of sun, plant growth will be slow and there may be no flowering. Strong sunshine can cause lilacs to produce small and quickly flowering inflorescences. The optimal place for planting is a sunny place well protected from the winds.

Lilacs should be planted in late summer - early autumn, preferably in the evening or in damp, cloudy weather. The depth of the planting hole, previously dug 2-3 weeks in advance, is recommended from 0.5 to 1 meter with the same width. Be sure to add to the soil when planting organic fertilizers, wood ash or humus (up to 20 kg per planting hole).

High-quality flowering will be observed with normal growth, which depends on how well the lilac is maintained. Planting and care (the photo shows all the beauty of your favorite plant), if carried out correctly, in combination with love for the plant, will determine its continuous gorgeous flowering and active growth.

Every autumn, the soil must be dug up to a depth of about 12 cm, carefully so as not to damage the roots of the plant. During the winter, the dug up soil should be left unleveled so that the weed seeds in it freeze out over the winter.

Fertilizing lilacs is done in early spring, as soon as the shoots begin to grow. Under one bush it is introduced mineral complex, consisting of 20-30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 30 grams of superphosphate, 15-20 grams of potassium chloride; The placement depth is 10-15 cm. It is recommended to fertilize with mineral fertilizers simultaneously with the application of mullein or slurry.

The second feeding is carried out during the period of bud formation with the same composition.

How to prune lilacs correctly

Planting and care, pruning are important factors contributing to the quality growth of this crop. The purpose of pruning is to form the crown and maintain the shape of the bush, causing annual abundant flowering.

In the first two years from the moment of planting, the growth of lilacs is quite weak, so the nature of pruning is sanitary and thinning. In the third year, when the growth of the bush intensifies, drastic pruning is required. In early spring, it is necessary to select about 10 strong shoots from the crown, giving the bush a spreading shape and as far apart as possible from each other. Subsequently, it is these branches that will become trunks; the remaining shoots should be cut off. Small branches directed inward to the crown must be cut out completely, stronger branches directed outward must be shortened. If lilacs are pruned in the fall, they will not bloom the following spring. Also around the lilac bush it is necessary to regularly remove root shoots and rhizomatous shoots.

Lilac propagation

Lilac propagation is carried out by root shoots, cuttings and grafting, used mainly for garden forms. For cuttings, you need to take well-leafed, semi-lignified shoots; In this case, the leaf blades need to be reduced by half. Make the lower cut oblique, under the internode, and the upper one above the leaf node. To root, cuttings need to be planted in coarse sand, sprinkled on the nutrient soil of the greenhouse in a 3-5 cm layer. After planting and spraying the planted branches with water, the greenhouses need to be covered with frames, providing the plants with diffused light and a temperature of +25-30 degrees. As they take root, the cuttings are gradually accustomed to the open air. Cuttings rooted in greenhouses are left for the winter, having previously covered them with leaves or spruce branches. They can also be stored buried in the basement in winter. In the spring, plant in the beds.

You need to cut it early in the morning, removing most of the leaves from the branches, because they evaporate a lot of moisture. Lilacs cut from young bushes last longer than from old ones. The inflorescence must contain at least 2/3 of open flowers, because the buds will no longer bloom when cut. Before placing the bouquet in a vase, you need to refresh the oblique cuts by making new ones under water. Tricky, but effective technique: crush the ends of the shoots with a hammer. It is recommended to add 2-3 grams of acetic or citric acid to the water. A wilted bouquet can be refreshed by placing it in very hot water.

Plant diseases and pests

For those who want to acquire a chic, pleasantly smelling plant on their own plot, it is worth knowing everything about this crop: what is involved in a plant such as lilac, planting and care, its diseases, timing of pruning and watering regime. Pests and diseases affect lilacs quite rarely. This is a lilac leaf miner that targets shrub leaves. After exposure to this insect, the lilac looks as if burned and practically does not bloom the next year. This pest should be combated by deep digging the soil under the bush in the fall and spring (in order to destroy the pupae that have settled in the soil), cutting out and burning the affected shoots.

Also, lilac, planting and caring for which brings true lovers of beauty a lot of joy, is sometimes affected by bacterial necrosis; This happens in early August. The disease is transmitted by irrigation water, insects, and planting material. The presence of this disease can be determined by the graying of leaves and browning of shoots. In this case, it is necessary to use drugs aimed at controlling pests, removing and disposing of damaged parts of the plant, uprooting and burning heavily affected bushes.

Lilac is a decoration of almost every Russian garden. Excellent, this deciduous shrub, which has a large number of trunks, grows not only in the central zone of the country or its southern regions, but also in the northern territories, enduring wintering without any problems. Growing lilacs is a fairly simple task, especially if you are an experienced gardener. The flowering of the plant's purple brushes symbolizes the beginning of spring, a new life for each of us. In this material we will talk about how to cultivate this plant in the garden.

The timing of lilac flowering can vary under the influence of a variety of factors. So, first of all they are determined by:

• varietal variety of the plant growing on your site;
• climatic conditions of the region in which your garden is located;
• weather relevant for a particular spring.

As you understand, the dates we are interested in may change, but, in any case, they will fit into the period between the end of April and the beginning of June.

It is impossible to miss this grandiose event for every gardener, because when the time comes, the bush will release delicate lilac clusters of flowers and the air will be filled with a wonderful aroma.

By the way, if you manage to create favorable conditions for the bush, it will be able to live, no less, up to a hundred years. This plant will not give you any difficulties in caring for it, as it literally grows on its own and is not afraid of even extreme cold.

Growing lilacs in the garden

Every gardener can grow lilacs in the garden. To do this, you just need to understand the main points associated with this procedure. So let's get started.

Planting lilacs

The best period of the year, which is most suitable for planting this plant in the ground, varies from July 15 to the first days of September. You can vary the timing yourself, as they will be influenced by the onset of cold weather, current weather conditions and other factors.

It is not worth planting lilacs in late autumn or early spring; unlike other shrubs, during these periods the plant practically does not take root and quickly dies.

You need to choose an area in your garden that will be well lit for planting. This bush is not afraid of direct sunlight. As for the soil, then best soil for lilac has the following characteristics:

• moderate humidity;
• saturation with humus;
• is slightly alkaline.

Few people grow lilacs from seeds; it is much easier and faster to buy seedlings, therefore, we will do the same, however, when purchasing, we will pay attention to the condition of the items offered for sale. So, we need one that will be equipped with a root system:

• strongly expressed;
• developed according to the trunk;
• extensively branched.

Before planting such a seedling, after delivering the plant home, you must:

• shorten the root part of the plant directly to 30 centimeters;
• remove damaged, shriveled or diseased roots.

By the way, the same thing needs to be done in relation to the shoots, but only under the condition that they are diseased or have excessive length.

The planting distance between each lilac seedling, depending on its variety, should vary from 2 to 3 meters, but it is better to take as much as possible. Planting occurs in several stages.

Stage No. 1 – preparing planting holes

First of all, we need to dig planting holes in the soil. Provided that you have at your disposal high-quality garden soil characterized by at least average fertility, the size of the holes should be as follows:

• 50 centimeters width;
• similar length;
• similar depth.

If planting is carried out in sandy loam soil or simply infertile soil, then the hole needs to be doubled in all respects, since when planting it will also be mixed with a nutrient composition made by you manually from:

• humus in a volume of up to 20 kilograms per pit;
• superphosphate in the amount of 30 grams;
• ash remaining after burning wood, in a volume equal to 300 grams.

Note: provided that the soil in your garden is acidic, you will need to double the indicated amount of added ash.

After the hole is dug, it is necessary to lay material on its bottom, with the help of which excess liquid will be drained in the future. They can serve:

• expanded clay;
• remains of broken bricks;
• crushed stone and other similar materials.

After laying the drainage layer, a fertile mixture is poured on top for plant growth. If you don’t need to fertilize the soil additionally, just pour garden soil into the hole.

Stage No. 2 – place the seedling in the hole

The seedling is installed directly in the center of the hole on a mound of earth or nutrient mixture. The roots of the plant are straightened out separately so that they can grow as quickly as possible, and then the hole is filled to the top with garden soil.

At the same time, the root collar of the plant should remain above the surface of the earth, protruding about 4 centimeters.

Stage No. 3 – watering and mulching

After the plant is planted, it must be watered as abundantly as possible, and after the water has been absorbed into the ground, mulch the pit area on top using:

• peat;
• or humus.

The thickness of the mulch layer laid out should be 5-7 centimeters.

Lilac: care

Caring for lilacs can really be called easy, since this plant is very unpretentious. Lilac grows on its own, but in the first half you will need to water it:

• I use about 30 liters of water for each bush;
• repeating moistening of the soil after it dries.

In addition, it is advisable to loosen around the trunk up to 4 times during the growing season, deepening the hoe by 4-7 centimeters. At the same time, it would be a good idea to remove weeds.

In August and September, the plant is not watered, unless there is no rain and there is a long drought, but this is a rare phenomenon for our country.

About 5-6 years after planting, garden seedlings will turn into full-fledged bushes and begin to delight you with abundant flowering.

Now let's talk about fertilizing.

1. For the first three years of the plant’s life, it will be necessary to feed the bushes with nitrogen fertilizer, using it in small quantities according to the instructions.

2. Starting from the second year of plant growth, urea is added to the soil, approximately in a volume equal to 50-60 grams.

3. It would also be a good idea to feed the lilac with organic matter during the first years of growth, using slurry in an amount of up to three buckets per bush. The slurry is prepared as follows:

• one part of the manure is taken;
• diluted in five parts of water.

Fertilizer is applied by digging a circular furrow along the perimeter of the plant trunks and pouring the resulting solution into it.

4. Fertilizers containing potassium and phosphorus should be dug into the ground of the plant approximately once every 3 years, using:

• potassium nitrate in a volume of up to 35 grams;
• double superphosphate, up to 40 grams.

Be sure to water after introducing the listed fertilizers into the soil.

5. Another natural and extremely useful fertilizer for lilacs is an ash solution, composed in the following proportions:

• 200 grams of ash;
• for 8 liters of clean water.

Provided that you provide the lilac with such support, it will delight you with incredibly beautiful and lush blooms.

Mandatory lilac transplant

Experienced gardeners know: about 2 years after planting lilacs, the bushes need to be replanted. We explain why this happened. The fact is that lilac extremely quickly absorbs all the nutrients from the soil, and even if you regularly fertilized the soil, after 2 years it will be practically “empty”. And in the meantime, to continue to give beautiful flowers, lilacs require constant nutrition.

Replanting the bushes begins no earlier than the month of August, but not too late so that the plant has time to take root in the new place.

1. At the beginning, by analogy with the planting procedure, holes are dug to accommodate the bushes and equipped drainage system. The holes should be larger so that they can accommodate the developed roots of the plant, as well as the nutrient substrate and soil.
2. Then the plant bushes are dug up and they are inspected, during which all diseased, dried out and broken shoots are removed. You need to remove the bush from the ground together with the lump that is caught in the roots. You need to move the plant directly to its new place of residence carefully, on an improvised stretcher made of oilcloth or other material.
3. After installing the plant with a ball of earth inside the hole, we fill the holes with soil up to their very surface.

Lilac pruning

Young two-year-old bushes do not need to prune the branches, since they have not yet had time to form the so-called skeletal branches, however, already in the third year of the bush’s life, the formation of the crown should begin.

This procedure usually takes about 3 years. It is carried out in the spring, before metabolic processes begin to occur in the bush. The beginning of sap flow is indicated by swelling of the buds, so before you notice this, start pruning.

Lilac pruning is usually carried out to form the crown, as well as to ensure the necessary “hygiene” for the bush

You will need to cut off all the shoots, leaving only 6-7 branches:

• spaced at an equal distance from each other;
• the most beautiful in your opinion.

At the same time, it is also necessary to remove the young shoots produced by the bush.

In the second year of pruning, you will need to cut off half of the flowering shoots. From each skeletal branch, a length sufficient to preserve no more than 8 buds is removed.

Not only do you need to carry out formative pruning, it would also be a good idea to do sanitary pruning. So, during the formation of a bush, you should remove branches that:

• frozen;
• broke;
• affected by diseases;
• growing incorrectly.

Many gardeners are afraid to thin out the lilac crown, however, they should remember that in this way you are helping it gain new strength and not harming it.

How to care for lilacs in bloom

It is very important to pay special attention to caring for lilacs while they are blooming.

For example, the sweet aroma of the inflorescences of this crop attracts pests - May beetles. You will have to remove them from the plant with your own hands in order to keep it intact.

In addition, it is important to prune approximately 60% of the total volume of flowers during the active phase of blossoming of lilac inflorescences. You can make beautiful bouquets for yourself, and at the same time push the bush to form new shoots now and lay flower buds for the new growing season.

pay attention to interesting advice: In order for the cut lilac to last longer in the vase, you need to cut it in the morning, and then split the cut into several parts.

Fading and yellowing brushes must be cut off from lilacs.

Plant pests and diseases

Despite the fact that the crop we are interested in, in principle, rarely gets sick, under unfavorable conditions it can still become infected with various rots, necrosis and powdery mildew.

In addition, pests often attack it, for example:

• moth;
• kidney mites;
• mole;
• hawk moth, etc.

Prevention, which consists of regular crown thinning, carried out according to the rules, helps to cope with many of the listed diseases.

In addition, when infected with rot of bacterial etiology, it will be correct to treat the plant with copper oxychloride, preferably not once, but several times, with an interval of 10-12 days.

The use of fugicides helps against powdery mildew. Various fungal etiologies of wilt can be stopped using a homemade solution prepared from:

• water;
• regular laundry soap;
• sodium carbonate.

All shoots affected by pests or diseases must be cut off and sent for burning.

Indian lilac: cultivation

Indian lilac, contrary to popular belief, is not a lilac, but belongs to shrubs of the Lagerstroemia genus. Its blooms are as impressive as those of traditional lilacs.

Unfortunately, on the territory of Russia this crop can only grow:

• in the conditions of the southern regions;
• in mid-latitudes, provided that its wintering will take place exclusively in apartments or heated houses.

Lagerstroemia blooms from July to October, but only if you create favorable conditions for it. However, it must be said that the peculiarity of this plant lies in its adaptation even to relatively unfavorable conditions and a high degree of survival.

You need to choose a place in the garden for Indian lilacs by analogy with the traditional variety of this crop:

• open;
• flooded with sun rays.

Planting is done in the spring so that the plant has time to grow and “wake up” from wintering.

When planting, you need to prepare the plant by shortening the root part by exactly half. Then, as you already know, you need to dig a hole, only this time its parameters should be 40 centimeters long by 40 wide by 40 deep.

The hole also needs to be drained, then the seedling is placed clearly in the middle, the roots are straightened and covered with earth. Afterwards, abundant and regular watering begins, and, in addition, spraying, since despite its love of light, lagerstroemia does not tolerate dryness.

The shrubs are fed mainly with organic matter, starting to produce fertilizer in March, and continue until the end of the first summer month. The replenishment of the land begins again in September.

After 2 years of growth, by analogy with ordinary lilacs, the plant is transplanted and they begin to shape it, shortening the shoots by about 30 centimeters from their original length.

As the plant grows, care will remain the same. You can find its nuances in the part of the article that is devoted to traditional lilac, since for both of these plants it will be almost the same.

Let's sum it up

Lilac is a very common plant in our country, and is associated with beauty and the arrival of spring. What’s interesting is that, despite its clearly high decorative value, it requires virtually no maintenance, and those procedures that still need to be carried out cannot scare either an experienced gardener or a beginner.

Video - Lilac: care, cultivation, propagation

Lilac is a beautiful flowering shrub that is used for group and single plantings in city parks and garden plots. Lilac tolerates pruning and shaping, so it can be used to make hedges.

Planting common lilac

The optimal planting time depends on the form in which the seedling goes on sale. The best time to plant bare-rooted seedlings is early autumn. Planting lilacs in the fall should be completed before the end of September.

Lilac leaves remain green until frost, so on a seedling intended for autumn planting, they should be green. If a lilac seedling without leaves is a bad sign, which means that the planting period has passed. It needs to be placed in a trench until spring, as is done with fruit tree seedlings.

The timing of planting lilacs in the spring is compressed. You need to have time to get the seedling out of the trench and plant it in a permanent place before the buds open, so it’s better to prepare the hole in the fall - then you won’t have to dig into the frozen soil with a shovel. Planting lilacs in summer is possible if you purchase a seedling in a container.

Lilacs take root if you don’t make mistakes when planting:

1. Failure to meet deadlines.
2. Planting in acidic, structureless clay soil.
3. Planting in deep shade.
4. Planting in a wetland or temporarily flooded area in a lowland.

Lilac loves light, but it will not die even in partial shade, and will not bloom as magnificently as in the sun. As for the quality of the soil, this plant grows freely even on poor, uncultivated land. But the plant feels better on fertile, loose soil with a reaction close to neutral.

Lilac does not tolerate flooding and soils with a soil solution reaction below 5.5, on which the leaves turn yellow and crumble. To successfully plant lilacs, the soil must be breathable.

How to plant lilacs:

1. They dig a hole. The less cultivated the soil, the larger the hole should be. The free space in the hole is filled with fertile soil mixed with a small amount of compost or peat - up to 1/4 of the volume of the soil. In old gardens, you can dig small holes for lilacs - just enough to fit the roots of the seedling.
2. The grafted lilac is planted so that the grafting site is at soil level. The grafting should not end up in the soil so that the plant does not transfer to its roots. An exception will be seedlings grafted onto Hungarian lilac or privet, which are planted with deep grafting to make them more durable.
3. When planting, rooted lilacs are buried so that additional roots are formed.
4. The roots are covered with fertile soil and trampled down the soil with your foot, forming a hole near the trunk. First you need to make sure that the root collar is at the right level.
5. The hole is generously filled with water.

Planting of Hungarian lilac, as well as Persian and Amur, follows the same rules as in the case of common lilac.

How to care for lilacs

Caring for lilacs is no different from caring for most winter-hardy ornamental shrubs. Lilac tolerates cold, so it does not have to be insulated for the winter. Only in young grafted plants in the year of planting can the tree trunk circles be mulched with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

After planting, the plant is watered abundantly until it begins to grow. Watering lilacs is needed only when necessary - in the heat. Autumn water-recharging watering is not carried out for lilacs.

In the first years, until the lilac blooms, no fertilizer is applied to it. Plants need enough organic matter added to planting holes. Young bushes need loosening the soil, weeding and watering.

The lilac bush begins to bloom in the third year. Then you can start annual feeding. Mineral fertilizers will make the brushes larger, brighter and more fragrant, and increase their number.

In the spring, before flowering, you need to have time to loosen the soil in the tree trunk circle at least once and feed the plant with any complex mineral fertilizer that is soluble in water. The roots of lilacs are located superficially, so you need to loosen the soil carefully and shallowly.

Potassium makes the plant winter-hardy. After potassium feeding, the flower buds tolerate frost well, do not freeze, and the bush blooms profusely in the spring. Potassium is added along with phosphorus at the rate of 3 tbsp. on a large mature bush.

In the future, they limit themselves to sanitary pruning, cutting out in early spring the branches growing inside the crown, dried out over the winter and damaged by pests. If necessary, sanitary pruning can be carried out at any time during the growing season. Wild shoots are removed from grafted lilacs in the spring.

When the lilac blooms, without damaging the plant, you can cut off more than half of the flowering shoots and use them to create bouquets. If you do not cut them, then next year fewer shoots will form and flowering will be weak. It is better to immediately remove faded brushes from the branches with pruning shears so that they do not spoil the appearance of the bush.

It is better to cut lilac flowers early in the morning, before the dew dries. To keep the flowers in water longer, the ends of the shoots should be split with a hammer or knife.

A bush older than 10 years can be rejuvenated by removing one skeletal branch per year. New skeletal branches are formed from dormant buds, which will bloom on the trunk next to the marks from the cut branches.

In the form of a tree

1. Immediately after planting, remove all side branches, if any.
2. When the seedling begins to grow, all its side branches are removed while they are green and weak, leaving a stem growing upward.
3. When the stem reaches the desired height - in the second year, its top is pinched. Afterwards it will stop growing upward and become a standard.
4. After pinching the top, dormant buds will awaken in the upper part of the trunk, from which several shoots will begin to grow upward. Of these, you can leave as many as the number of skeletal branches expected for the future tree.

There are about 30 types of lilac. Species are divided into groups. The most popular is the common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) from the group of Common lilacs. The varieties have very large flowers and inflorescences. Flowers vary in shape - simple, double and semi-double with different arrangements of petals. The color can be not only lilac, like the main species, but also white, pinkish, bluish, and purple.

The description of lilac varieties is so diverse that it allows you to choose a plant to suit every taste, not only in terms of flowering quality, but also in other characteristics.

For private gardens, varieties with compact, not too tall bushes are preferred, for example:

‘Madame Charles Souchet’

'Henri Robert'

‘Mrs. Edward Harding'

If the garden is small and you intend to plant several lilac seedlings, it is better to choose outstanding varieties that have significant differences:

'Katherine Havemeyer'

'Flora 1953'

'Buffon'

When caring for and growing common lilac and its varieties, remember that they are really unpretentious, but cannot tolerate waterlogging and acidic soils.

Lilacs belonging to the Hairy group bloom later.

Widespread and known for its unpretentiousness in growing, Hungarian lilac ( S. josikaea) It is resistant to both drought and temporary waterlogging. A free-growing Hungarian hedge can protect the area from noise and dust. Hairy lilacs also have varieties, although there are fewer of them and they are not as diverse as varieties of common lilac. These varieties are also called late hybrids, because they bloom at a time when the common lilac varieties have already faded.

These are large shrubs with a dense spreading crown. These types of lilacs look great in landscape design - for example, in groups, including with other shrubs and trees. You can form groups from different varieties.

For example, very decorative:

‘Miss Canada’ with reddish flowers

‘Agnes Smith’ with an unusual creamy white color

‘Calphurnia’ with drooping purple inflorescences

When planting fluffy lilacs in the Moscow region, one should take into account its smaller size and relatively low winter hardiness.

Low, up to 1.5 m, small-leaved lilac ( S. microphylla) Can be planted in a flower garden or rock garden. For the winter, it must be covered.

Julia lilac (S. julianae) overwinters without shelter in a protected location.

Species from the subgenus Ligustrin - tree lilacs - are similar to each other, but very different from other lilacs. Their small white flowers with protruding stamens more closely resemble privet flowers.

Reticulated lilac, also called Japanese ( S. reticulata) , is a large plant that blooms later than other lilacs, in late June - July. It is of particular interest for large areas, although it is also suitable for ordinary ones.

We are better known for its variety - Amur lilac ( S. reticulata ssp.amurensis) .

Caring for lilacs from the Ligustrin subgenus is more labor-intensive: it is much more demanding in relation to soil moisture than other lilacs.

You should not plant and care for lilacs of different varieties, but with similar characteristics, very close to each other. In comparison, one of the species will always lose.

How to plant a lilac seedling correctly

Skilled gardeners claim that planting this shrub is a simple matter. In addition, if everything is done correctly, the plant feels very comfortable in any garden. However, you need to know exactly how to plant lilacs different sizes and ages: for example, older bushes are more vulnerable, but seedlings practically do not require any special treatment or close attention.

Let's first figure out when and how to plant a lilac seedling so that it will delight you in the near future. It is best to plant and care for lilacs in the Moscow region in the second half of August, covering the whole of September. Experts recommend this particular time period, since the shrub still has a certain number of warm days left in order for the root system to take root safely.

But what should you do if the favorable period for planting lilacs in the ground has been missed? There’s definitely no need to panic, but we recommend taking a few things into account.

1. Let’s imagine that you hesitate a little and will have to finish planting shrubs on days when the temperature rapidly drops to 0°C. Advice for situations like this: planting material should be carefully buried in an inclined position in an area protected from northern winds. Of course, you transfer the landing procedure itself to spring period. Please note that this trick will only work with young seedlings, but adult specimens will have to be left until the beginning of autumn.
2. If frosts have not yet arrived, but they are about to come to you, you should take the following steps: firstly, the soil under the bush must be sprinkled with either dry leaves or peat. You certainly do this only after you have watered the plant. This move, which experts call mulching, will help save lilacs from the coming cold weather. But be extremely careful that this same move does not cause lilac disease - more specifically, its rotting if sudden warming occurs. Therefore, sprinkle the bush so that the layer of mulch is not too close to the trunks.
3. And remember one more important thing: this shrub in temperate latitudes grows quite early. Therefore, planting should be done before the buds begin to swell.

To know how to properly plant and care for lilacs in the spring, see the photo, which shows one of the key points - regular watering of the plant:

• In addition, you need to ensure that water does not stagnate in the soil. And for this you will have to loosen the area under the bush. Experienced gardeners also advise treating spring seedlings with stimulants for better root formation. This is done in cases where the appearance of the plant indicates that the bush is withering.
• Planting and caring for lilacs in the open ground is a little complicated: the fact is that next summer after planting the bush, symptoms such as poor flowering and a small number of new shoots may appear. In such cases, the plant needs an eye and an eye - protection from sunlight and gusts of wind, regular watering and spraying.

When we figured out what time is best to plant lilacs, let's turn our attention to its territorial placement. Gardening experts say that the ideal conditions for this mission are:

• firstly, flat areas or areas with a gentle slope but reliable drainage;
• It is also important that groundwater is not very close to the surface;
• in addition, keep in mind that the soil must be fertile and moist;
• a sufficient amount of sunlight during the day is a must;
• and, of course, northern winds should not blow through the bushes.

Be sure to look at the photo of a lilac planted correctly: such a lush color is possible only when the plant grows in well-lit places.

Otherwise, instead of delighting you with an abundance of flowers, the bush will grow and stretch.

But that's not so bad! If you choose unsuitable soil for a bush, you will definitely destroy it. Remember that lilacs can grow in poor soils, but in acidic ones they have great difficulty. The situation can be corrected if you try to constantly maintain low acidity by, for example, adding lime or ash to the ground. But in areas where water constantly stagnates, the plant will not be able to develop. Wetlands are hell for lilacs.

How to properly care for lilacs when growing in the garden

Growing lilacs in the garden requires that the bushes be located at a certain distance from each other. Do you want to get a shrub in its natural size? Then provide him with enough free space - three meters on all sides. But we understand perfectly well that it is rarely possible to live on a grand scale. Therefore, let's try to moderate our appetites! However, keep in mind that there must be a distance of at least one and a half meters between the seedlings. If you want to create on your site hedge from lilacs, dig holes for the plant at a distance of about 1 m.

When asked how to properly care for lilacs, experienced gardeners answer as follows: it is necessary at the very beginning, firstly, to prepare a hole of suitable size for the bush, and, secondly, to decide on fertilizers.

Thus, if you are planting a bush in a cultivated area, then the hole should correspond to the size of the roots of the seedling. On soils that are considered less fertile, shrubs are planted in larger holes.

Regarding what to fertilize the soil with, gardening experts say the following: in poor soils they certainly add, for example, wood ash, organic matter - the same compost - or all kinds of minerals - phosphates and potassium. But it is not recommended to use nitrogen supplements. Just like bird droppings, by the way.

Knowing how to care for lilacs, you will accurately calculate when and what needs to be added to the soil for favorable growth and development of the plant. So it will not be news to you that annual fertilizing is carried out in the spring, and those bushes that were planted in holes already filled with fertilizers do not need any minerals and nutrients for three years.

But in the fourth year of existence, it’s time to start fertilizing the area under the bushes with organic additives. And this should be done in the summer.

Please note that the already mentioned phosphates and potassium are used for feeding every two years in autumn period. By the way, ordinary ash can serve as an alternative.

As we have already said and you can see in the photo, caring for lilacs involves regular watering of the plant when it blooms and produces new shoots:

In addition, of course, they do not forget to constantly weed and loosen the soil.

How to prune lilacs after flowering

Bringing beauty - that is, pruning lilacs - needs to be done wisely: remember that if you engage in this procedure too selflessly, it is fraught active growth new shoots that you don’t need at all - they only give the crown of the bush a sloppy appearance. In this case, gardeners recommend removing approximately 20% of all branches in one haircut.

What else you need to know is the lilac pruning scheme, which includes two techniques: one is necessary for removing those same branches in the crown, and the second is for trimming old inflorescences.

You must always remember that injuring the bush - making cuts that exceed 3 cm - is strictly prohibited! This risks the fact that your young or mature plant will begin to rot and then die. Unfortunately, lubricating with a special varnish will not help either: it will slightly slow down the rotting process, but will not stop it.

To understand how to prune lilacs, you need to understand that this plant is grown either as a shrub or as a standard tree. Therefore, to the question of how to prune lilacs after flowering, we will answer you as follows: the pruning procedure is carried out in such a way that after it the largest trunks remain in adult specimens - no more than four pieces, and the rest is carefully and neatly trimmed.

The pruning technique is to ensure that the selected branches face the different directions. In the future, the branches of the bush will certainly be refined, that is, unnecessary shoots are removed from the bottom and in the center.

This will protect the bush from any damage. And to ensure successful pruning, prune lilacs after flowering or in early spring.

Scheme for pruning lilacs after flowering (with video)

By the way, the scheme for pruning lilacs after flowering is very strict and even tough: any experienced gardener will tell you that if you remove the inflorescences late, and by “late” we mean the period of time between July and September inclusive, you can’t expect wild flowers next year. The whole point is that the nutrients will simply be spent on the formation of seeds and fruits, but not buds. Therefore, experts, knowing how to prune lilacs correctly, do this immediately after the inflorescences die.

This does not apply only to those types and varieties of lilac that are non-bearing: for example, “Lesya Ukrainka”.

If you want, you can trim even in winter, since your actions are not aimed at ensuring a lush color, but only at maintaining the aesthetic appearance of the shrub.

To carry out the procedure we described correctly, we recommend that you watch the video of pruning lilacs:

Methods of propagating lilacs and how to grow a shrub from cuttings (with video)

Lilac propagation can be carried out in several ways: seeds, cuttings, layering or grafting. Let's say right away that grafting is a technique that is only suitable for experienced gardeners.

As for other methods. For example, this method of propagating lilacs as seeds is multifunctional: firstly, it is suitable for growing various types of shrubs, and secondly, they can be used to grow seedlings suitable for grafting.

However, keep in mind that such plants are slightly slow in growth and need proper care.

By the way, with the help of shoots you can also grow a new generation of this shrub. To do this, you just need to plant the shoots. However, make sure that the mother plant has a healthy root system. This does not apply, for example, to bushes that were bred by grafting.

How to grow lilacs so that the roots are healthy and can later help increase the number of specimens for planting? The answer is simple - you should use green cuttings. They must be summer ones, since winter material will not be able to take root.

Remember that this procedure cannot be carried out with all plant varieties. Those that produce flowers from double buds are considered more or less suitable - for example, “India” or “Montaigne”.

To understand even better how to grow lilacs from cuttings, you should learn more about such a moment as the timing of their separation. Gardening experts say that it is best to carry out vegetative propagation immediately after the shoots stop growing in length. This period coincides with the plant’s vigorous flowering.

In addition, it will be favorable for cuttings if the bush from which the particles are separated for propagation is as young as possible.

You should also take note that it is better to separate the cuttings from those branches that are located in the center of the crown of the bush. They are extracted using a razor or a sharp knife. By the way, if you are not too lazy, you can treat each extracted cutting with a preparation that will stimulate the process of formation of the root system.

Cuttings are most often immersed in a substrate that is breathable and has moderate humidity. Such material could be, for example, a mixture of peat and sand. The cuttings must be placed vertically in the rooting container.

This is done so that the lower buds are completely covered. Don’t forget to spray the plants after this and carefully close the greenhouse. By the way, the film that is used for covering is pulled closer to the cuttings. But then they carefully monitor that the rooting process takes place correctly: for this it is necessary to control that the water in the greenhouse does not stagnate. Therefore, the next spraying of the plant is carried out only after the previous water has dried on the leaves of the cuttings.

Remember that the roots will appear on the cuttings after about ten weeks. But this does not mean that the plant is ready for planting. In fact, cuttings with a root system that has already begun to form are moved from the greenhouse only next spring. And even better - in the fall.

Are you still a little uneasy about taking on such a responsible task? Then let's watch a video of lilac propagation, which will finally help you understand all the nuances:

Diseases and pests of lilac: photos and control methods

Lilac diseases and pests can destroy your beautifully flowering and fragrant shrubs in no time. You can fight them, and we will now tell you how to do it.

You see in the photo examples of lilac disease, which are considered very common:

Yellowed and curled leaves are evidence that the shrub lacks either nutrients or sufficient watering. The lack of elements such as magnesium, iron and zinc is most likely caused by the poor soil in which the bush grows, or due to the fact that it was planted in alkaline soil. These lilac diseases and the fight against them suggest that you will have to get an acidity indicator at your nearest store, which will help establish the level of “neutrality” of the soil and adjust it (required pH 7).

In addition, let us also feed the plant: To do this, take a solution of microelements or add wood ash or a little potassium sulfate to the root.

Unfortunately, if your bushes are infected with viruses, you may not immediately realize it. Indeed, with these types of diseases, the symptoms in plants are similar - yellowing and curling of the foliage. The only thing that can tell you is which lilac disease needs to be treated and the extent of the affected area. Most often, traces of viruses appear first on only one branch.

And now about the unpleasant. It must be said right away that it is rarely possible to save a plant from a viral disease. The fact is that the virus spreads very quickly throughout the bush system. You can try to remove only the affected shoot first, but this will not guarantee the recovery of the entire bush.

You can see an example of lilac disease and an attempt to combat it in the photo below: as you understand, to achieve successful resolution situation failed:

What then do experienced gardeners suggest doing in such cases? It’s quite simple – to prevent viral diseases. This is possible when you ensure that the soil under the plant is healthy from the very beginning. Therefore, purchase planting material in special stores.

In addition, try to ensure that weeds are removed in a timely manner and tiny bushes, which are most often where viruses are concentrated, are cut off. Naturally, for carrying out all kinds of procedures - cutting, planting - use only sterile instruments. And, as we already said, do not injure the bushes.

But no matter how terrible the lilac pests are, they can and should be combated: to do this, you should use substances such as chlorophos - in particular, to destroy the moth, phthalophos - ideal for combating hawkmoth, or fozalon - a remedy which is used to treat bushes if moths have settled on them.

Types and varieties of lilac: photos, names and descriptions

To say that there are many varieties of lilacs on the planet means to say nothing. We will tell you about the most popular and beautiful varieties of this shrub. And let's start with the fact that this wonderful plant came to our region six centuries ago. He was brought from a distant country - Persia.

So, we present to your attention the most charming types of lilacs: in the photo you can see:

"Andenken an Ludwig Späth", distinguished by its rich purple buds, which bloom quite late,

"Tinkerbelle" – frost-resistant shrub, very resistant to diseases and pleasing to the eye of any gardener with inflorescences in the shade of Burgundy wine.

Not inferior to the already named plants is such a variety as "Buffon", in which large flowers predominate, painted in purple undertones and exuding a divine aroma.

The magnificent "Pearl", whose buds, as you might have guessed, amaze with their pinkish-white beauty. Moreover, the shrub can reach 3 m in height.

Take a look at the photo: this variety of lilac has already been mentioned by us earlier - this is the same magnificent terry “Indiya”. Its deep purple inflorescences fill any garden with a whole range of aromas.

Another type of popular shrub has a very pretentious name - "Carpe Diem", which is translated from Latin as “Seize the moment.” The plant is characterized by frost resistance and stunning abundant early flowering of a soft blue color.

Now look carefully at the photo of the lilac variety, the description of which can be reduced to one line - best variety in the world according to UNESCO.

And what is the name of this miracle, you ask? And here it is – “Beauty of Moscow”. Huge double inflorescences, distinguished by pinkish-white undertones, fill the air with a viscous sweet aroma that is downright dizzying.

The variety is truly gigantic in size "Le Notre", whose deep purple buds turn blue at the end of flowering. The shrub can reach a height of up to 5 m! And for our temperate latitudes it is also considered very suitable - it can withstand low temperatures.

"Lucie Baltet"- this is a plant with a very rare bud color - brown-red combined with a slightly noticeable blue. In addition, it is distinguished by lush, long-lasting flowering.

Star-shaped buds are characteristic of a bush called “Mme. Antoine Buchner". Their color is striking in rich pink shades.

Another "madam" - “Mme. Casimir Perrier"- boasts fragrant, crème brûlée-colored buds that, due to their unique feature, appear double: raised petals cover the core.

Considered the most exquisite in its snow-white beauty “Mme. Lemoine". Lilac reaches medium size - up to 3 m in height.

"Michel Buchner" amazes the eye of a true connoisseur of gardening skills with amazing blue flowers. The petals have slightly pointed tips, and the center of the inflorescence is distinguished by its light tenderness.

Has a very strong aroma "Maidens Blush", which blooms quite early. The buds are colored in pinkish undertones.

This plant is truly dizzying with its species diversity! And the varieties that we have listed are just the tip of the iceberg.

Let's enjoy the photos with the names of other types of lilacs, and you will finally decide which one you want to see in your garden:

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