do you weed whip around the trunk??

i am surprised you do not have a multitude of suckers coming up ...

ken

Might do better if the grass was pulled back away from it, so that it had an area of mulched soil around it instead of turf coming right up to it. Grass and trees are mortal enemies, grass plants actually use chemical warfare.

Otherwise, lilacs are supposed to be extra prone to honey fungus (Armillaria). Perhaps yours is being pinched off by an infestation of this.

Or there is another pathogen at work.

Ken wrote:

do you weed whip around the trunk??

Sorry, but I'm just not into that kinky stuff. ;) Seriously, no, I don't.

bboy wrote:

Might do better if the grass was pulled back away from it, so that it had an area of mulched soil around it instead of turf coming right up to it.

Thanks, I can try that.

Grass and trees are mortal enemies, grass plants actually use chemical warfare. Otherwise, lilacs are supposed to be extra prone to honey fungus (Armillaria). Perhaps yours is being pinched off by an infestation of this.

Or there is another pathogen at work.

I see.

So, apart from grass, there's no need to prune any of the plant itself?

Correct, the only pruning you need to do is deadhead the spent blooms if you feel like it.

Big suckering ones with a lot of dead growth are a different story....

OK, thanks, buyorsell888.

I've been wondering about this myself. Late last fall, I was given 8 7-8' lilacs. All are budding and will bloom, but there has definitely been die back. I'm waiting until I see what they do. I trust I should cut the dead branches off. Should I also prune the live ones, to encourage them to bush out? They were packed very tight together in a hedge, so are narrow. I'm sure they'll sucker and plan to let that happen - since I want my own hedge! I'd appreciate any thoughts on that plan.

As for the stick in the ground, I did that with a branch that broke off in the move - and it's budding too! Good luck!

As for the stick in the ground, I did that with a branch that broke off in the move - and it's budding too! Good luck!

Cool--thanks, rigelcaj. :)