You may call it "renewal pruning." It's a drastic but effective way to prune overgrown shrubs. The lilac will take a few years to get back to a substantial size but it will have more flowers than ever. While you are at it, scratch in lime around the roots, have a drink and forgive yourself . If the branch end is chewed up, prune it properly to a slant cut with sharp clippers. No need to apply anything to stub.

Some people don't allow weedwackers or wacky weeders in the garden.,

marie stole my thunder ... rejuvenation pruning.. lol ...

be glad the fence was NOT there.. as you could have impaled yourself or the machine on the metal ... gotta find an upside ...

one of the reasons i tell peeps to put a 3 to 4 foot ring of mulch around a plant..in the lawn .. is to keep the dude with the lawnmower and weedwhip away from the plant ...

i would round up a spot that size ... for the future ... my trick is to make a egyptian eye sort of design.. in the direction i mow ... so i dont have to circle every plant ... i would do this for a few weeks running ... so the part i dont mow.. grows long ... then i would spray that part .. and let it die ... when the heat of summer hits.. it will rot away ... or then its dry out there.. and its all yellow i would drive over the dead stuff to cut it short ... then let the rest rot away ...

i thought you had 5 acres... i would have thought you had a riding mower rather than a lawn mower ... isnt yours riding???

you cant kill a L even if you drove a truck over it.. yours will be fine.. give up the guilt and self deprecation ... like too short ...

ken

the part around the eyeball .. not all the curlicues .... but if you want to get fancy.. go for it.. lol ..

https://www.google.com/search?q=egyptian+eye+sort+of+design.&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiu2NjZp-bMAhUB6IMKHZpKBGgQ_AUIBygB&biw=906&bih=745&dpr=0.9

Well, my Lilac is dying.

I've busted the myth that Lilacs can't be killed, by running them over.

I went out today to check on it, and I was shocked to see that countless leaves have turned dark brown, almost black. I stopped counting after I reached 30. And a couple leaves are now limp. I did a real number on the shrub.

I have a Lilac still in its 5 gallon container that i was planning on planting somewhere else, but I'm going to put it there.

Ken, I have a riding lawn mower. Also, regarding mulch, it attracts voles, so I cant use it. My Lilacs were completely left alone by them this past winter, including the Lilacs near the side of my house where the voles travel. Believe me, I WANT to mulch, I know its best.

I finished the rest of the mowing today, and now there's a wide girth of grass to weed-eat. I found out why the mower was getting stuck so much. It had a flat tire that I didn't notice. Dh put air in it this morning, so I could finish mowing while he's at work.

I've learned several lessons here that I have should known before. Never mow when you're in a hurry. It's not worth it. Never mow remotely close to anything you love, and check your tires before you plop down on the seat.

Last night I couldn't even enjoy the Orioles on MLB, because I kept thinking about the shrub and my stupidity. I looked over at Dh and said I only mowed that close to it to save you from weed-eating which I know you hate. He said you aren't blaming me for what happened, are you? Secretly I was a tiny bit, because if he hadn't always mentioned how he hated weed-eating I would never mow so close. But I said of course not, it was all my fault, start to finish, I was just giving you the motivation why I was practically reckless with getting so close to the shrub. He said he's not going to mind weed-eating anymore because he only hated weed-eating around all the fences I had up. He laughed and said boy am I glad it was YOU who ran over that shrub and not ME! We both started laughing because he was so right.

i refuse to believe.. that you hurt the root mass ... leave it alone until fall ...

you can still kill the grass.. without adding mulch .. though i presume you have a moral objection to RU ...

ken

ps: /.... lol.. just the other day.. i couldnt figure out why i was scalping on turns on my rider ... who knew tires needed air in them.. lol ...

Ken, the leaves are turning brown/black, and are turning limp. They wouldn't do that if they weren't dying. If you think they're not dying, then why did they turn colors and starting to become limp overnight after the accident? Doesn't that signal death of the shrub?

Check for damage to the bottom of the trunks/stalks that have the limp leaves connected to them. Sometimes if you half cut one it will still be standing up but the leaves can't get enough water or whatever

dollars to donuts it ain't dead

Even if the stems are dead due to damage from blades or a hot muffler, the roots may still be fine, and most probably are. Put a set of bamboo stakes around it and hand cut (no string trimmer) the grass there. Be sure it gets water if it's been dry, and give it until next spring. I think it will surprise you.

As an unofficial queen of the voles (I think a probably have several tens of thousands on my 100+ acres without any exaggeration) I mulch anyhow. I have so many voles that they are around whether or not I have mulch down, and it makes little difference, so I would go ahead and add a layer of mulch.

its a suckering plant... i dont care what the top looks like.. my shiny penny is still on it regrowing from the roots ...

if you want to cut the odds... buy another ... plant elsewhere.. and then if this one doesnt make it ... you are covered ..

let us know in fall ...

ken

Darwin Award only applies to those who have not yet conceived offspring! If you've already born children....it's too late, lol!

Below, in the middle, there are browning leaves.

The bark is bright green underneath. Does that matter more than how the leaves look? How is the plant going to be able to make food without healthy leaves? I'm watering the heck out of right now, but I wonder if I'm throwing good water on a futile situation.

The dark patches on the leaves don't look like a reaction to having branches cut off. That would just cause wilting and shrivelling. The discolouration might even be due to overwatering. I would suggest you leave the shrub alone and try to think about something else for the next few weeks. Then go back and look at your lilac. It is one of the most robust shrubs you can grow. I am sure it will be fine.

Thank you, floral_uk. I appreciate your response. I've only watered the shrubs once or twice this year, they've definitely not been over-watered. If anything, they've been under-watered. The dirt around this shrub was dry as a bone, way down, so I watered it heavily today. I have sandy, rocky soil, and I've been told by my neighbor who grows trees that our soil is impossible to over water. Besides, my other 8 Lilacs look spectacular, and this one did too til I messed it up with my stupidity. :(

I'm going to give this Lilac all of this year to show me it can survive. It's the least I can do for this poor victim of near involuntary shrub-slaughter.

Oh, my. Ilovetrees, wishing both you and the lilac a full recovery. I know that dreaded feeling from my own gardening (mis)adventures. We all make mistakes.

Update! I went out this morning and noticed my shrub looks to have fully recovered. I only see 1 or 2 brown leaves now, nothing like it was before.

Below is a pic of a new Lilac I planted.. I just watered it 36 hours ago, but look at the soil. Dry as a bone. Our soil swallows the water just as fast as you can pour it.

actually it's only a darwin award if you run yourself over

Ah, I had a disaster with my brushcutter last year and was forced to get out the Austrian scythe to get ready for our annual party. If you have never seen an Austrian scythe, it is essentially a (very sharp) 3foot blade on a pole - inevitably, there were casualties, including a lilac and couple of roses which were whacked off in their entirety to within a couple of inches above the ground. This year, all are returning with vigour.

Where are the donuts? JK!