Should i trim lilac bushes

The common purple lilac is a tough, reliable shrub that may reach a height of 15 to 20 feet. Unfortunately, as lilacs mature, the shaded lower portions of the shrubs usually lose their leaves. As a result, large, overgrown specimens are often leggy and unattractive. Old, neglected lilacs can be renewed or rejuvenated by pruning. Home gardeners can choose between two different pruning methods. One way to renew a large, overgrown lilac is to cut the entire plant back to within 6 to 8 inches of the ground in late winter March or early April.

This severe pruning will induce a large number of shoots to develop during the growing season. In late winter of the following year, select and retain several strong, healthy shoots to form the shrub framework and remove all the others at ground level. Head cut back the retained shoots to just above a bud to encourage branching. Remove dead or diseased branches, as well as any branches that interfere with the overall vase shape or clutter the interior of the tree.

If the tree grows too tall, you can cut back individual branches to around 1 foot below the desired height to prompt dense growth at the top. But they rarely require maintenance pruning, though you can prune when necessary for shape. And like other lilac varieties, they also can benefit from deadheading. Deadheading is the practice of removing dead blooms from a plant by hand. With some plants, this helps to stimulate continuing blooms. But with lilacs, the only time deadheading seems to help them bloom better is during the first few years of growth.

New lilac plants should begin blooming within 2 to 5 years. While the plants are young, deadheading the spent flowers helps to direct the plant's energy into setting more buds. However, once the plant has matured, it won't need this encouragement, and you'll likely have so many flowers that the task would be too time-consuming.

As with any plant, some years your lilac will bloom magnificently and some years not so much. Blooms are often dependent on the weather.

A pleasant summer during which healthy new growth develops will reward you with abundant blooms the following year. A summer with extreme weather will yield fewer flowers. So don't panic if your lilac isn't as vibrant from one year to the next. As long as the plant is healthy and you keep up with maintenance pruning, the flowers will follow. Pruning Large, Overgrown Lilacs.

Iowa State University Extension. Prune Lilacs Soon After Bloom. Oregon State University Extension. University of Vermont Extension.

Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Use precise geolocation data. Select personalised content. Create a personalised content profile. Measure ad performance. Select basic ads. Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads. Apply market research to generate audience insights. What are suckers? Around my lilac there are a few new lilac trees—single stems a few feet away, shooting up from the soil, making their presence known. These are the suckers.

I simply cut them off at the soil line or slightly below. However stems close to the trunk of the bush itself, you may want to leave, as a healthy lilac has a mix of old and new stems.

You could also dig up the suckers and replant them elsewhere. Save Save. Have you any suggestions for a lilac that loses its colour? I have inherited a lilac bush that bloomed prolifically this spring, but the blossoms quickly faded from purple to washed out cream. Is there something I can add to the soil to help it regain its colour?

Tara, this has happened to our bushes as well…. Very pale petals, and they hardly lasted 2 weeks though it was very windy this past month! A lot of our surrounding neighborhoods have big, even huge lilac bushes! I really loved this article! I have a lilac bush that is plentiful on one side and pretty open on the other side. It is about 8 years old and needs pruning.

How should I proceed? At this point, you want to cut out older wood and malformed stems, and keep the newer stems to encourage new growth.

Cut the older stems down to the ground. I have a bloomerang lilac tree and I pruned it tonight. I think I may have pruned new buds by mistake new Gardner here. Did I ruin the tree from forever blooming again? We are finally getting to relandscape my front yard and I have a lilac bush that is in need of trimming. This year it did not bloom anyway due to being neglected for so long. If I cut it back now will it kill the whole plant? Thank you for clearly stating how I should take care of my brand new lilac bush.

My 4 yr old bush branches cant support the blooms. Should I feed something in particular. It is 5 feet high and not dense at all. We have a lilac tree which has bloomed on a few branches but the the other branches either have no leaves or flowers or withered leaves and flowers. Should we prune and if so how much. Can you give us some advice.

Hi James, Once the blooms have died, I would prune off anything that seems dead or diseased. The leaves curling could be powdery mildew.

A little thinning, even of healthy branches, will help to ensure there is airflow through the shrub. Hello, New gardener, and new homeowner here. I did not prune last year as i know basically nothing, and still learning tips and tricks. The neighbor said she has pruned her side for years and they are nice so i dont mind.

The neighbor side bloomed beautifully this year. The side facing the yard, not so much. There are several bases to it. Over ten trunks from the ground. Im afraid i will kill it and the previous owner is a family friend would not be so happy, nor would my neighbor who loves it, or me because I like it as well and would like to maintain it.

Also i noticed on the yard side, the roots seem to be showing, should i add dirt as well? This will also help with air flow. If roots are showing, I would cover them with fresh soil. Hi Tara, I am a new gardener. I got a house Last year. We have to lilac trees that bloomed this year. But not until the flowering I noticed the trees had a lot of dead wool and old blooms that were never pruned from last years. I wish I read this before.

That old lilacs might need to be pruned in a three year period of time. I did it all at once today. What does this mean to my two lilac trees?

Did I ruined them forever? I have one that is not blooming. Should I try pruning it back and seeing if it will bloom next season. We moved into a new house in August and have two lilac bushes on either side of the house in the backyard. One has produced about branches of flowers so far but the other one has absolutely zero flowers. Any helpful insight? I bought a Lilac bush 3 yrs ago, it is 5 feet tall right now but it never had flowers. I prune it before winter.. What should I do now so it can bloom next year.

The best time to prune a lilac is right after it flowers, which is right about now. Hello, I had a 1 year old lilac plant that was doing great. I had it since it was about 3 inches tall. It grew to about a foot very healthy. I went out to look at it this morning and a squirrel tore it apart. Is there any way I can get that to regrow?

I had a squirrel tear apart a mature lilac to build a nest in my chimney! It did grow back, but it sounds as though I had more left. Hi Tara, I have a dwarf lilac tree I think.