Maintaining Lilac Bushes

 

Maintaining Lilac Bushes

Lilacs are one of the first flowering bushes of the spring and one of the most long-lived.  There are also so many different varieties of Lilacs: double lilac, light purple lilac, dark purple lilac, white lilac, french lilac etc. - the list is endless.

When talking about maintaining Lilac bushes you first need to know if you have a regular oldfashioned lilac bush or a "non-suckering" lilac bush (please see the last 2 pictures at the bottom of this post).  Simply look at the base of your lilac bush and if there are little lilac shoots growing, then you have a regular lilac plant.  Some people do not like the unkempt look of the traditional lilac plant but I don't mind the wild look - I actually prefer it.  Over the years I have been able to start many new lilac bushes from the suckers that my traditional lilac bush produced.  I am able to separate 1 or 2 lilac suckers about every 5 years - (I should add "successfully separate").  There have been times when I tried to separate these suckers too soon and they just ended up dying - trial and error is the best way to learn in this case. 

This lilac bush has produced many "suckers" but none are large
enough to separate.

This lilac bush is about 45 years old (which is
young in Lilac years).

This is a "non-suckering" lilac bush