minor leaf issues ... could have been a frost event at leaf emergence long ago ... any lawn spraying since spring???

it otherwise looks deep green and healthy ... are you fert'g it??? .. is it in full sun?

flowering plants flower.. when the root mass become mature enough to support flowering ... i dont quite understand how long its been with you ...

mildew has no impact or relevance to flowering ...

lilac sets their flower buds the fall prior .. mis-timing of pruning can impact flowering next spring.. as in they were all cut off ...

its awful close to the house ... but you will figure that out.. sooner or later .. is that siding.. or wood that will need painting???

maybe a pic of the whole thing will help

ken

Phenoxy herbicides-the kind of stuff people use to kill dandelions in their lawns-can cause this cupping of leaves, but this looks minor if in that realm. Ken's mention of late-frost damage is also right on but it seems late in the season for us to still be seeing that. It would have been apparent on the plant's earliest foliage. Another possibility, although here too I have my doubts, is aphids. Look closely on the leaf undersides for small, soft-bodies insects. Hmmm?

Aphid damage I wonder about being to the extent that it includes upper portions of leaves appearing as though torn off. Whether or not any chemicals have been used in the vicinity would seem pertinent.

Yes, that's an oddity in aphid land. Plus, I have never seen lilac foliage attacked by anything, other than the obvious-powdery mildew. Suppose that can vary with geography.

Thanks so much for the help! I'm wondering if the problem could be aphids but, would aphids just go away by themselves. They aren't on any of the leaves currently. Anytime I've ever seen aphid infestation it's not something that goes away by itself. The awesome guy that does the lawn does use fertilizer and weed control but I don't think it could get up on the leaves and no other plants near the lawn have this problem. I'm glad to hear it doesn't look like major damage. The lilac is been there probably about 4 or 5 years old. I bought it as a small $25 bush at Lowe's .... Two years ago it almost died. I thought it was just powdery mildew but it could've been a combination aphids also. It's on the east side of the house where it gets full sun until about noon. Thanks again for everyone's help!!

lilac is been there probably about 4 or 5 years

==>>> i surely would not spend a minute worry about this 'run it over with the truck' shrub...

not would i treat it with anything ...

everything starts looking ratty.. as august rolls in ... in MI anyway]... some years worse than others ...

and there are just to many variables since spring.. to figure it all out ...

ken

Appears to be damage from herbicide drift, such as 2,4-D.

But as has been noted, it's minor and the shrub should be fine.

"The awesome guy that does the lawn does use fertilizer and weed control"

There are herbicides that drift from spraying or dusting if applied in a breeze, but also can wash into the root zone of woody plants and be taken up that way, depending on what the herbicide is. As others have said, this doesn't appear severe, but if you don't want the curling leaves, try asking the lawn guy to not use any weed killer next year and see what happens.