What you want is your garden center/box store supplied Syringa Vulgaris.

If you want someting special (there's scores of varieties of Syringa Vulgaris available) ... check out what's available at www.songsparrow.com.

(see page 8 and 9 of their woodies online catalogue)

I wouldn't recommend that you buy a lilac mail-order, unless you want something special ... but Song Sparrow (which, typically, gives good value for your money) will give you some idea of what's available.

AWH! Don't be so mean to Miss Kim! She has a purpose. I don't have room in my garden for a huge lilac, and Miss Kim suits me just fine. I keep her pruned into a nice sculptural shape with well defined lower branches showing off her beautiful legs. Her fragrance wafts from the bottom of my rock garden near the street all the way up to our front porch. Another plus is that when all of the other lilacs on our street have faded, Miss Kim is just starting her show. She has never grown higher than 4 foot, which is perfect for my garden. Perhaps someone near you would dig her up and take her home, don't be a killer.

i hate my Miss Kim's also!!! i have two of them, and they just don't have the "wow" factor that i associate with lilacs. I also have two Syringa Vulgaris, good old fashioned lilacs that are gorgeous, large shrubs (one is about 8 feet tall, and one is about 10 feet tall). right now they are completely loaded with the most delicious scented blossoms. a couple of years ago i purchased what i thought was a syringa vulgaris and it turned out to be a Preston lilac, but i am still happy with it. it is a much larger shrub than Miss Kim and grows really fast. it seems to bloom at the same time as Miss Kim, which is a bit later than the old fashioned lilacs but i think it is going to be far superior to the Miss Kim when it puts on it's show.

good luck!
jiggreen

Thanks everyone. My Miss Kim is a monster for me. It's easily over 6' tall. Like I said, the only good thing is the fragrance.

I'll be looking for "Syringa Vulgaris" specifically for my next purchase! Better yet, I'll take it home w/ME, not leave it to the nursery to deliver!

Thanks again!

I hate Miss Kim too... All the nurseries build it up like it's this wonderful lilac... I don't think it comes close in the scent department that the traditional French Lilac has... Also the color is so blah... Granted it grows well, even in some shade, but it just isn't what I'm used to...

I think some of the draw to "Miss Kim" is that it has a mounding habit rather than a tall lanky one, which actually allows it to better fit in the landscape as a foundation shrub requiring mimimal pruning when compared to other lilacs. It is a later-blooming lilac than many of the S. vulgaris cultivars and thus helps extend the lilac season for collectors. And for those who live in areas that often have mild spells in winter followed by late spring frosts, having later bloomers helps minimize the risk of flower bud blasts resulting in poor bloom. In addition, the foliage on Miss Kim is a heckava lot better during the summer than many lilacs including the prestons and you get the bonus of a reddish-purple leaf coloration in fall. Plus they are powdery-mildew resistant.

So all in all, IMHO "Miss Kim" does have some benefits as a lilac when compared to the other Syringa species. I do realize that it is heavily pushed but it can have a place in a garden (or on a balcony where mine is...;-)).

Isn't that funny how different people view different plants? My husband and I just yanked out a common lilac from the front yard, planted by a previous owner probably more than 25 yrs ago. If it had been Miss Kim, which is mildew resistant, it would have stayed. But the onslaught of powdery mildew and looking at a bush no longer green, but white, just does absolutely nothing for me. Actually, no lilac does much for me. They bloom, then are green blobs the rest of the season. No berries, no host plant for butterflies...just blah.

littledog, love your story! Isn't that what lilacs do? Send up all the suckers I mean? I have 3-4 (hard to tell because of all the different shoots) out in the far side back of our yard, that never get powdery mildew. Those I don't really mind. Sitting in the backyard this time of year sure does smell good! I just wish mine would rebloom like yours. Maybe I'll go talk nice to those lilacs and see if they won't love me like yours love you!

Terry

I love my 'Miss Kim' because I have a small yard and she has nice fall foliage color and no mildew. I do not plant much that only looks good for a month a year.

Certainly there is no comparison to traditional "French Lilacs" but 'Miss Kim' is great for those who don't have room for the suckering mildewing monsters that only look good when blooming.

I cut flowers from my neighbors. :)

Laurie, it depends on personal taste. If you really hate a plant, I mean really HATE Miss Kim hysterically, do the following :
1. uproot her;
2. use a saw, break every branch of her;
3. cut her into pieces
4. (optional) stomp on her;
5. burn and bury the ashes.

That solves the problem in an hour. No more ---ing.

Can a Miss Kim be moved and, if so, when is the best time?

[LOL]
shic, I've been lurking and laughing.

I've just done exactly that with several old, spindly, icky insipid lilacs. Actually, a GardenWeb friend dug one up and whisked it away quickly as I bore down on it with my saw.

I felt this way about 'Charles Jolie', who should have been red/purple. Not.

I have 2 'Primrose' that are 3 years old (and maybe a year at the nursery? Maybe 2?) that have yet to bloom. They have One More Year and out they go.

Burn, baby BURN!

Christine

kfelske, you don't give a zone or state, only that you live in the US, so it's hard to comment.

I'm not thrilled about miss k, but under a row of windows, she works. They don't have prime real estate, they don't block the view, and for two weeks in early summer are a sweet addition.
\ Life's too short and lilacs are too cheap to keep a plant you hate.

If you have access to "craig's list" or want to give away though gardenweb, list it and have em dig it and take it away.

If you can't wait, dig it up pot it and if you remember to water it once in awhile it can live or die quickly or slowly.

Interesting read. I bought Miss Kim Lilac because it was the most scented Lilac they had. Then after a week I had doubts. Everyday I look at it I am not sure if I likeitor hate it.

Its only 3 feet tall and smells the porch nicely BUT it doesn't look like a lilac.

My main reason for a google search was to find out when it blooms. Seems like they are dying already here in CT!

I didn't have anything against lilacs - or at least the one I have - until I purchased this house.

First, I don't care for pastels and it's a pastel purple. The color doesn't coordinate with any other plants on my property. The only time it looks nice is early spring, then it blooms, and the blooms die within a week. I spent 1/2 hour or more this weekend cutting the dead blooms off the areas I could reach. And, we always have a mildew problem with ours, so it's definitely not Miss Kim. So this year I trimmed it up so there is only foliage on the upper half. It looks good, more like a tree form than a shrub now, but honestly, the only reason we haven't dug it up yet - or several reasons I should say - is because it gives us privacy from our neighbors on our small lot, and because my hubby is dreading trying to dig it out.

Maybe next year...

My Miss Kim has not grown in three years, I'm taking her out this year

Do you want to trade Miss Kim Lilac? I have Marie Frances suckers that I can trade. It has a pleasant scent and shrimp pink in color.

Couple of comments: Nobody seems to know the lilac 'Palibin', a rounded shrub about 6 feet tall that actually has pretty good fall color. And if you want a classic vulgaris but don't want it to get huge and sucker all over the place, check out the lilacs bred by Father Fiala. I bought 'Yankee Doodle' some years back from Klehm's--the flowers are the dark purple of 'Ludwig Spaeth', but no suckering. Great plant.

solson1....I was first introduced to Miss Kim because I purchased one for a neighbor. She loved lilacs and I needed a thank you gift. It took years for that Miss Kim to grow. Even now, some 25+ yrs later, she stands maybe 4' tall. I personally, love her habit, her scent, her color.....I wouldn't just yank her out without finding another gardener to give her to.

laceyvail, I've never heard of 'Palibin', however that's not saying a whole lot!

Free cycle is how I get rid of all my unwanted plants and extra garden stuff. It is great!

I'm in the pro-Miss Kim camp, too. Just got 3 more to spot around the landscape. She definitely has grown large and round over the years the one by the Hosta will be moved this Fall. I actually like the fresh green foliage that stays looking good after bloom time!

I think Miss Kim is one of the most loveliest of the lilacs. My friends always ask me what kind of the plant it is, because they love it. What is great about this plant is, unlike the traditional lilacs, which I also love, Miss Kim will not put out unwanted shoots.

These 'lilacs' were touted by the nursery as the greatest thing since the outing of the internet. I bought two very healthy looking plants last fall and they bloomed profusely this spring and are reblooming now. I hate them! True, they have a wonderful smell, but I never smelled a lilac that didn't... almost makes me swoon just thinking about it.

I grew up in the north where we could barely wait for the first cutting of a bunch of old fashion lilacs for the dining table. Since I am 79 years young there isn't much time to keep planting and waiting. My daugter-in-law sent me two lilacs for my birthday last week...you guessed it, Miss Kims. Now I'll never tell her how disappointed I am. I'm grateful she thought about me and I know she got the idea from my son because I had a talk with him recently about my thoughts on Miss Kims and how I longed for the old fashioned lilacs I left behind when I moved to Tennessee. He must have mentioned the lilacs to her but nothing else of our conversation. I must not have reared him properly.

The count is now four Miss Kims, two new and two from last year. I will make a donation of the two older ones. They will be at the curb next trash day, Friday. Feel free to pick them up.

Why the hate miageorge? You long for the ugly powdery mildew that affects the old fashioned lilacs up here in the north?

I just put in three of the old fashioned kind. They are mere twigs with a few leaves. How long before I will have a 4 or 5 foot lilac shrub? Don't know if they grow slow or fast. I water frequently and am in zone 5, SW Iowa. What has been your experience?

It'll be a few years ...

Miss kim is my most favorite lilac , it,s fragrance is intoxicating!

Blue Boy seems to do well in my bucks county home zone6. I've also heard it called Blue Wonder.

I also grow Blue WOnder and I think it is a wonderful lilac with such a beautiful blue color. Can't wait for mine to bloom this year. Though mine is a much smaller bush than yours.

I planted a young Miss Kim (about 18") in April 2016 as a namesake remembrance for a loved one that had passed...in the fall after her leaves had dropped I trimmed her back to her original size, just as I do every fall with the few shrubs and roses I have in the yard, and they all come back strong the next growing season.

I know, I know, I should have done research before I did that, not having a green thumb and having no knowledge about the Miss Kim, and realized that was not the thing to do until it was too late!

Needless to say, I guess, there were not even any leaves this spring because I cut back the new growth last fall, but I've been watering her on occasion this summer because it's been so hot and dry here in west- central Iowa.

My question is whether she will even survive my mistake, I'm reluctant to remove her and start over next spring even if I have to wait a year or more for her to come around. I'm just concerned because there wasn't even a single leaf this season.

I'm more than willing to wait, but is a Miss Kim lilac hearty enough to survive and come back from my blunder eventually?

richbob13 - if your Miss Kim hasn't leafed out at all by now (end of July), you may want to scratch a little of the bark from a few branches to see if they are alive and still green. If not, then she may be toast. I have had clusters of leaves on branches in the past fry in the heat during bad heatwaves, crinkle, turn brown, and drop, but then the branches would eventually resprout a new set of leaves from dormant buds. Your pruning in the fall would have cut off any potential flowers but shouldn't have impacted the ability to produce leaves unless you basically cut it down to the ground. Miss Kim is cold hearty to zone 4 (down to -20F to -30F) but younger plants need to be babied the first couple years.

Hi Jenny, your response is very much appreciated! As you suggested, I did scratch a bit of the bark on a couple of branches and found no green...I'm assuming that on a healthy plant it should be green directly under the bark? The branches are quite rigid and stiff ,and seem likely to easily snap, so she probably is toast, as you said.

It makes sense that being a young plant , she was damaged by being pruned in the fall, especially since I remember a frigid stretch here in December when the temps reached about 16 below zero.

I'll just leave her be 'til spring and barring a miracle, replace her then...and never mess with her replacement for at least several years ! Thanks again for your help !

My Miss Kim is now 3 years old and did bloom quite a bit this spring. My concern is that she has so many bare branches and so few leaves even with all the blooms. Should I cut her back after flowering to see if she gets to look a little healthier? Am in CT.