Lilacs?

No picture because I don't have one!
I've been waiting for blooms on 'hart's noid ' heirloom white lilac. it's four feet tall and looking very healthy. Have your lilacs bloomed already this year?
Edit-
After some comments, varieties 'Palibin' and 'Josee' get very good remarks. Read on.

This message was edited May 22, 2012 9:50 AM

Sally, I've seen 1 small bloom on a lavender French lilac, otherwise none. It doesn't look promising again this year. Last year we had zero, zip, nada, absolutely none. No idea as to why, we usually get a lot and cut vases full for Holly's mom. :-{ Ric

We lost a pretty Lilac last year and the surviving one did as Ric's did and had one bloom on it this year. I heard this same thing discussed at some point yesterday, so it has to be something possibly weather related that occurred this year that has affected the blooming of Lilac's. Not sure, but will be interesting to hear if anyone has any knowledge of what may be happening with Lilac's in our region.

Ruby

Ahhhhhhh - I thought it was just mine!!! I planted mine in huge pot on my stoop and it bloomed wonderfully the first year...then nothing - so I was going to replant to them in the ground...now I'll wait and hole out for next year :-)

Our lavender one, which we've had for a long time, also had just a single bloom. Another had far fewer than usual. The Korean lilacs, which are still quite small, had some blooms. I was blaming David's pruning for the poor showing this year on the big one. Maybe they need lots of cold and didn't get it this past winter.

Welll that sounds like a possibility (cold) I think I heard about a lilac festival somewhere north of us.

This message was edited May 20, 2012 7:50 PM

One of my favorite lilacs is "Josee" which puts on quite a show in spring and has more blooms later if we deadhead it.

I still have a baby one so wasn't expecting blooms this year but here's some from one of the public gardens near me(I was there on APril 30th), they have all the lilacs in their own little area and you can smell them from quite a distance....you just have to follow your nose... It smelled WONDERFUL

Some of you may remember me saying that my favorite garden spot would be under a blooming lilac bush in a bed of lily of the valley! But I don't want to live under a lilac here in Zone 7 where the mildew mid to late summer claims the greeness and blooms are sparce if at all, certainly not the bountiful bouquets in every room that I grew up with. (Miss Kim does ok here and some others Boomerang? but I'm talking old fashioned lilacs) (And I'm talking zone 7 not 6)

Yes, I'm a transplant here, born and bred in Zone 5 in a woodsy area, surrounded by farms, just south of Chicago. My big brother who stayed in Chicago was so envious that I could grow azaleas and japanese maples, etc, but in my mind nothing could beat the lilacs that bloomed in every yard or farmstead.

http://grumpygardener.southernliving.com/grumpy_gardener/2009/04/is-the-south-too-hot-for-lilacs.html

" the problem with lilacs in the South is not how hot it gets in summer. After all, it can get over 100 degrees in Canada. The problem is the duration of the heat and the length of the winter. The majority of lilacs need a long period of winter chill in order to bloom well."

So, Sally, the sandy shores of the Chesapeake give lilacs almost the opposite weather patterns they need to be reliable prolific bloomers: a long hot summer and much more often than not a mild intermitantly cool winter. And, throw in humidity when a lilac wants dry. Also, it took a good five years of age for our sucker from Grandma's bush to begin to bloom and I was in college before it reached 10 foot.

But I will share with you a tip a neighbor lady told me to try to get an established lilac bush here in Annapolis to bloom. She said you had to shock it ! You do this by taking a straight edge shovel and plunging it deep into the ground in at least six places around the base of the bush, Evidently this bit of folk wisdom of root severing or pruning triggers the bush to bloom its head off the next season. Sorry I can't remember the timing of this shock...either mid to late summer.

In case any of you are wondering why I requested some lilacs at the swap. I plan to raise them up in containers and relocate them to Vermont where they will be happy and fit right in and be enjoyed whether in or out of bloom .








This message was edited May 20, 2012 10:03 PM

My lilacs bloomed like crazy again this spring, but maybe the cultivars are better suited for a mild winter (and we had a record mild winter this year). Both are "dwarf" - Palibin and Miss Kim. I like the fragrance of Palibin much better than the the fragrance of Miss Kim. Palibin is light and sweet, whereas the Miss Kim is kind of musky.

Mine are cuttings from the swap last year and they are doing great. About 2' tall now in a very large pot.

We picked a small bunch of lilacs from a friend's garden recently and stuck it into the AC vent in the car. We enjoyed the wonderful fragrance on our drive back :-). Not sure what type of lilac it was, but it was very fragrant!! Love lilacs!!!

Gee, I've learned something about lilacs. Thanks coleup!
When we bought here I inherited an old one. I thought it bloomed well ever year. That was pre DG and I did not try to save any when it had to come out. (Ow! I felt that! Somebody smacked me...)

Ours did bloom this year, but it did seem not as prolific as other years. Will try shocking it. Thank you for that info. I do love the fragrance.

Just want to say that my "regular" lilacs didn't do much this year. But that "Josee" never fails. Definitely worth having in the garden or landscape.

I thought I'd lost my Persian lilac last year. The main 'trunk' had to be cut all the way down...but she surprised me this year with a little amount of blooms on the new growth.

yay!

I love to see new growth so close to the ground on a bush or shrub that looks DEAD.

Here we go once again. A conversation starts on a plant that I haven't particularly been too interested in. I don't hate Lilacs, but haven't ever gone out of my way to acquire any, though we have a couple of them here. So, I sit and read the thread and am convinced that I have to have one of the before now not particularly interest in. I will have to see if I can find a Josee. You folks are breaking my bank.

Nah....really love it. The issue will be finding space to plant it. In our previous home I had a huge Lilac that was planted near the rear door and every time you walked either in or out of the door, you were rewarded with a very sweet aroma. Have to have one now.

Ruby

Just ordered a "Bloomerang Lilac" I think it has a compact shape and controlled growth something like my "Josee".

Anyone feel like sharing the Nursery's they have used and had good luck with, Lilac wise? Thanks.

Ruby

Can't find where I bought Josee, right now, Ruby. I can try rooting a cutting for you and/or sending you a cutting.

Ruby - not sure about lilacs specifically but I've had wonderful luck with Logees, Bushwood (neither cheap but the plants are healthy and well...remain alive) - was going to mention our Rick's Custom Nursery http://rickscustomnursery.com/index.html but it appears Debbie had some sort of injury requiring surgery. Anyone know anything about this? :-(

Yes, She injured her ankle and was being treated for a bad strain for a few months. Then finally when it wasn't healing they realized that she had torn her Achilles tendon. Quite a serious injury last I heard she was recouping from the surgery pretty well. It has been very hard for her as she hasn't been in the gardens for a long time and they haven't been able to do any plant shows. She has taken up doing mosaics and the pieces I have seen are just beautiful.

thank you Holly!! Debbie is just a dear heart...love her to bits.

Good to know, Coleup. I think the offspring are usually somehow improved.

Thank you so much for the offer to root one for me Roses. I would certainly love to have it. I think that even though we were close in vicinity at Holly's swap, I didn't have the pleasure of meeting you. If you have a Lilac for me a the next swap, we can meet for sure. Again, thank you for the offer, and I will gladly take you up on it.

So sorry to hear about Debbie being out of sorts. Good grief, this has really put things on hold for them for sure. Hope that she will recover speedily and completely.

Ruby

Will go out this week and try to root a couple of Josee Lilacs. Wish me luck!!!

Good luck Roses. Remember, if at first you don't succeed, try, try again. hahaha Just had to say that. I am like many others that I heard saying that they don't often have much success with propogating many things. The hard wood stems are something that hasn't often worked for me, though my husband tends to have better luck than I do with it.

A lot of gardening is like many other things and a lot of trial and error goes on before getting things to work well. Yummy......I can smell it now.

Ruby

I followed some of your leads this time. I've kept the lilacs rec'd in their pots....going to let them continue to put growth on and will plant them out later....maybe even early fall. One is going down to my mom's in SC...she LOVES lilac...it's her favorite!! In past years - I've stuck em right in the ground and well...they died...very sad. So we'll see if this yields better results.

I did that with the lilacs I received at last years swaps. I let them in the pots all summer and planted them in the fall. They both did very well. I kept them in the potting shed area so I didn't forget to water them.

Chantell,
Every now and again I find powder at Marshalls - wonderful lilac fragrance. Easy to find all sorts of rose and lavendar snd lily of the valley --- but VERY hard to find powders and soaps in lilac.

Good to hear, Holly!!

Rosie - hmmmm guess I'll need to pop into our local Marshalls every now and then

I absolutely adore smelly good things.....bring them on.

The prices are fantastic - always a sucker for soaps. Sorry I used to spend so much previously. These are english hard milled