Lilac shoots

To get the little lilac shoots to grow up to be big lilacs do I break it off from the original tree with the shovel and then pot the lil' one? Or what?

if you get roots on the little shoot then yes you will get a big liliac..make sure you keep it in the shade/semishade for a while so it can recover from the transplant ( a few weeks) and don't fert then, and keep it watered.

I was thinking I needed to keep it potted til next spring, uh?

If you'd like, but you don't have to. I dug up bunch of suckers from my MIL's lilac tree and put them together next to my deck. They looked pretty pitifull for a few weeks, but they're perking up now. I added bonemeal to the soil to help the roots develope.

gee, that's good. So they will be established by the end of the summer. thanks.

I have tried rooting lilacs,but never was sucessful.Could be they don't grow well in Ga.the ones I have are about 20 yrs. old,got them from arborday,and they have done fine,but I don't have what it takes to get them to root.I can do other plants ok,but what am I missing with lilacs. Mike

Mike, what anastatia is doing is digging up a side shoot that has roots, but is still attached to the main shrub. She isn't trying to "root" the lilac. Go look at yours and see if you see small branches growing out of the ground right near the main shrub-thats your offshoot-if you can dig it up with roots attached and pot it up-thats your new lilac!

Ohhh,OK,I can do that,are they considerd root suckers?That might be a good idea.Thanks,Mike

I'm trying to root some cuttings, from the french hybred. Don't know if it will work but thought it worth a try. If it don't guess I can buy some.
I put an asprin in a jar of water and a little Hydrogen peroxide. Stuck them like a boquet. and covered them with a plastic see through bag. No roots yet, only been since Saturday. If interested I would have to watch them a while longer, before any progress report. Russ