Lilacs are hardy plants; with only a little care, they thrive in any garden, providing it is not in a year-round warm climate. This is the time to select lilacs so they will be delivered in time for fall planting.
Their requirements are few: a sunny location and good soil that is well drained and not acid. If you have a place in your garden unshaded for a good part of the day then you can have lilacs. If the soil is acid, mix in some lime when you plant; if the soil is poor, add rotted manure, bone-meal or other fertilizer; if drainage needs improvement, dig a hole extra big and extra deep and fill in the bottom with a foot or so of sand, gravel or cinders.
Don’t crowd your lilacs; space them 10 feet apart to give each an opportunity to grow to its full size without competition from its neighbors. If you have room for only one, then pick the color or variety you like best and plant one lilac. Someone may tell you it is necessary to have at least two lilacs in order to have blossoms. Don’t you believe it! One lilac, planted alone, will bloom just as well as though it were surrounded by a dozen others.
How soon can you expect your lilacs to bloom? The answer depends, of course, on the age of the plant you buy and the variety you select. Strong growers naturally bloom sooner. If you select your lilacs from a near-by nursery, you probably can have them delivered with a ball of earth and you can choose larger and older plants than practical to ship by parcel post or express with the roots bare. If the plants have big, fat winter buds on the top branches they probably will bloom next spring. Most plants are ready to bloom at the age of four to six years. In the nursery rows most of the four-year olds are flowering plants. But don’t expect the finest blooms on small plants.
Up to the age of about ten years, the blossoms usually continue to increase in size and number. At ten years, the plant should be giving you its best.
Much has been written regarding the desirability of grafted lilacs as compared with own-root plants, but the claim is never made that own-root plants, grown from cuttings. can be surpassed.
If you obtain plants with a ball of earth, planting is simple; but remember when moving the plant to prevent the weight from injuring the roots by lifting the plant by the root ball, not by the top. Set the plant so that it is 3 or 4 inches deeper than it stood in the nursery, loosen and roll down the burlap around the ball and water as required to keep the ground moist until cold weather sets in.
If your plants come with the roots (bare, unpack them as soon as they arrive, remove the moss from around the roots and if the roots are not moist, soak them for half an hour in a bucket of water.
In good garden soil, a hole just broad enough to provide room for the roots when spread out, and deep enough so that the plant will be 3 or 4 inches lower than at the nursery, is sufficient. If the ground is hard or clayey, dig a hole twice as large and twice as deep as the root spread and discard the soil. Have a supply of good earth ready and fill hall the hole with it. Place the plant in the hole, spread the roots gently, place a few shovels of earth in the hole and work it around the roots with your hands. Do not forget to put in your wireless outdoor speakers so you can enjoy time outdoors. Add a few more shovels of soil and tamp down firmly. Fill the balance of the hole with water and when it has drained away add loose soil to ground level. In extreme climates. a hay or straw mulch 3 or 4 inches deep is advisable for the first winter.
Young lilacs require little pruning the first few years; about all that is needed is to cut off the blooms after they have faded and to remove dead branches. When the plants have attained a desirable height, however, annual pruning is necessary to keep them from growing taller and becoming “leggy.” Whenever you prune, you will lose the blossoms from the pruned branch the following season.
Lilacs are not subject to damage from many insects or diseases. Watch for scale: if those clusters of tiny, round, hard-shelled bisects appear on the branches or main stems, spray with an oil preparation when the plants are dormant. And, in the summer, watch for borers. They announce their presence by “sawdust” around the base of the plant, produced by digging into the wood. Find the hole where the borer entered and either dig out the culprit with a piece of wire or use a chemical preparation.
Modern lilacs are available in such a variety of color, size and form that you can pick them to suit your taste and your garden “to a T.
The more you know the better decisions you can make, like the topic of wireless outdoor speakers. Drop by today at http://www.plant-care.com/wireless-outdoor-speakers.html. This article, Lilac Time Putting On The Jazz is available for free reprint.