Take cuttings of firm new growth .... apply 0.3 to 0.8% IBA (Rooting hormone) stick in well drained soil & mist takeing up to 90 days to root...

I bought four lilac cuttings at the Boston Flower Show and have been growing them on indoors for the past two months. I potted them on a couple of weeks ago and gradually moved them to a shadey, protected place outside. They are growing like mad and are now about 20" tall. I plan to follow the nurseryman's advice and keep them in the pots all summer or until the roots begin to show through, then plant them out.

Question: Should the leader of these lilacs be pinched out to encourage branching? If so, when is this best done?

Thanks.

I have never successfully rooted a plant til last week.

3 weeks ago I bought a Persian Lilac. I like to trim bushes to look like trees. So after I planted it I trimmed off all the lower branches..I stuck them into a pot with moist Miracle Grow Tree and Shrub soil...2 weeks later, every branch I stuck in that soil is rooted..No root hormone used...Maybe I was lucky but it worked.