Lilacs
Gardening Reference » Gardening in 2006
by imarose on September 05, 2006 01:01 PM
Several years ago I planted a President Grevy Lilac and it has never gotten bigger than 1 foot tall. When it appears in spring, it looks healthy and strong, w/ nice green leaves. That's all it does. It spreads about 1 ft wide, and 1 ft tall and that's it. It's in full sun, sandy soil with mulch mixed in, and i feed it osmocote for flowering shrubs. In this area I see them at least 10 ft tall and flowering. What am I doing wrong?
by Bestofour on September 06, 2006 12:58 AM
Wonder if you should dig it up and replant it. Just to see what happens. Plant Lilac bushes by digging a hole wider than the root ball of the plant. Place the lilac plant so it is at the same soil level as was in the pot. {Do not bury the trunk or stem.} Use a mix of compost and a little peat moss to fill in around the plant. Add a bit of lime. Keep well watered but not wet. Lilac plants need good drainage. And they like at least 6 hours of sun.
Couldn't hurt since it's not doing well anyway.
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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour 
Couldn't hurt since it's not doing well anyway.
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http://www.picturetrail.com/bestofour
by Patty S on September 06, 2006 02:14 AM
Sheri, Do you know how I can start a new lilac from the shoots that come up at the base of an old bush? ![[dunno]](im/graemlins/dunno.gif)
(And is there a "right" time to start a new one?) We have a big scraggly lilac "tree" in our back yard that's just horrible looking, because the people before us never pruned or maintained it, & I want it GONE! I'm not quite sure how to go about getting one of the new little plants separated from the mama bush, but I would suppose that's what I need to do.
Lilacs are my daughter's favorite flower, & I was thinking yesterday that since her 21 year old cat (who has lived with me for the past 12 years) is acting "old" & probably isn't going to be around much longer, it might be nice to bury her under a lilac. (Uhhh... AFTER she dies, of course!)![[grin]](im/graemlins/grinnnn.gif)
I'd like to have a nice "memorial" lilac bush for the cat, but I'm afraid that if I cut this one down/pull it out before I get a new one started, I'll end up having to get one from the nursery & start from scratch.
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(And is there a "right" time to start a new one?) We have a big scraggly lilac "tree" in our back yard that's just horrible looking, because the people before us never pruned or maintained it, & I want it GONE! I'm not quite sure how to go about getting one of the new little plants separated from the mama bush, but I would suppose that's what I need to do.Lilacs are my daughter's favorite flower, & I was thinking yesterday that since her 21 year old cat (who has lived with me for the past 12 years) is acting "old" & probably isn't going to be around much longer, it might be nice to bury her under a lilac. (Uhhh... AFTER she dies, of course!)
I'd like to have a nice "memorial" lilac bush for the cat, but I'm afraid that if I cut this one down/pull it out before I get a new one started, I'll end up having to get one from the nursery & start from scratch.
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by joclyn on September 06, 2006 02:52 AM
i took some pieces from my neighbors lilac this spring.
i was going to do the 'air layering' thing.
when i went over to look at the bush, i found numerous suckers/spreaders in the lawn. they were pretty short because they'd been mowed over by the lawn mower.
i dug them up, cut the feeder piece and transplanted them. i made sure to put some root stimulant solution in the new hole before putting the cuttings in.
they've done wonderfully!! within a couple of weeks they went from 1 1/2 inches to 5-6 inches and now they're about 2 feet tall.
i'd wait until spring tho...you want the cuttings to have plenty of time to establish good root systems before winter hits (it's a little late now)
i was going to do the 'air layering' thing.
when i went over to look at the bush, i found numerous suckers/spreaders in the lawn. they were pretty short because they'd been mowed over by the lawn mower.
i dug them up, cut the feeder piece and transplanted them. i made sure to put some root stimulant solution in the new hole before putting the cuttings in.
they've done wonderfully!! within a couple of weeks they went from 1 1/2 inches to 5-6 inches and now they're about 2 feet tall.
i'd wait until spring tho...you want the cuttings to have plenty of time to establish good root systems before winter hits (it's a little late now)
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