Lilac - yet another failed pruning attempt - why?

17 days ago

I like pruning and had, I thought, a general grasp of principles and numerous handy text books, yet my lilac fails have been my most enduring garden shame (along with paeonies). I was bought a lilac tree (Katherine Havermeyer(sp?) I think), completely inappropriately, by my youngest offspring. I did try to contain it's exuberance by keeping it in a pot...where it immediately escaped into the hard paving...hard up against my greenhouse. Over the years, attempting to keep some semblance of control, training the shambolic shrubby mess into a graceful single trunked specimen, while encouraging regular blooming, has been very hit and miss (weighing more heavily on the miss side of the scales). This year, having finally beaten it into gaining enough height to avoid the annual crush, I am embarrassed by a horrible mohican efffect - the 4/5 canes which were too tall and centred for me to reach last year, blooming away and completly flowerless everywhere else...even though I pruned the lower bits immediately the blooms began to fade, thinking I had plenty of time for the remaining stems to ripen enough to initiate flowering buds.

I do this all the time with the philadelphuses, hedging, fruit bushes and ramblers and have to meddle with the apple cordons twice a year, with generally decent results . If it had not been a giftie (and so lovely on those odd successful(ish) years, it would have had the chop years ago...especially seeing the shameful positioning and truly obviously mangled pot and root remains - which I do try to hide with other cunningly placed pots but as it is also on a narrow path, there is no disguising the state of it all.

I really will try to get a photo up but was gearing up for another chop this year because I do think there is a chance of getting it into a more feasible and productive state than at present...but I need help.

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Comments (5)

diggerdee zone 6 CT
12 days ago
LOL you are probably well aware of my phobia- er, uh, I mean my thoughts on pruning, so you already know I can't help you. Although I would think that pruning after bloom would be okay. However, I DO need to see a photo of this wondrous gifted shrub, now that you have described it so eloquently!

;)

Dee

P.S. I do hope someone else will come along and give you some real help instead of just teasing you like I did!
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suzy jackson thanked diggerdee zone 6 CT
roxanna
8 days ago
last modified: 8 days ago
Suzy ~ I like to prune things -- sometimes. Presently I have two lilacs, one was a mature transplant from my mother's house (25 years ago which was already 25 years old there) and just a common garden variety of lilac. The other I purchased 18+/- years ago after a visit to Boston's Arnold Arboretum's "Lilac Sunday" -- this one is "Beauty of Moscow" (don't ask me to spell the true name, lol).

Both have declined. Mum's is old, and needs serious attention. I'd hate to lose it, for sentiment's sake. The other was moved last year (carefully) as it was about 15 feet tall and only bloomed on the uppermost level. Can't really see the bloom, and certainly cannot smell the delightful scent!

I know I can cut out the dead wood of mum's, and I think it will return nicely. (Might be wrong, but will try) The other one will be getting a drastic pruning, sometime this year. I don't know if that will help it or simply kill it outright.

le sigh.
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suzy jackson
Original Author
8 days ago
last modified: 8 days ago
Sigh indeed. I know what the outcome of doing nothing will be - a completely blocked path and just the very topmost branches producing flower spikes. I think my past meddling has created a very lush and rounded shrub which would (potentially) )be wonderful as a free-standing specimen but is a horrible mess when crammed up against a greenhouse and batted out of the way at every attempt to squeeze past to get to my gate, I suspect the dense structure is also preventing any light at all from reaching the underbranches, not least because it is stuffed in a corridor. I. In my heart, I do know this is an untenable position although I was very interested in your moving a 15ft one,Roxanna and entertained such a possibility myself. Fleetingly.The garden path would have to be lifted, major effort expended, which I am not going to do (properly) for sure. I am going to have a hard look and get my leeny chainsaw pruner out...I definitely think doing a half-arsed effort would be tragic.I am also feeling less inclined to be sentimental, regarding children's offerings cos I already contend with a bloody huge ceonothus and a large potted acer - also 'gifts' of youngest (in my minuscule garden).,
party_music50
8 days ago
I have two clusters with multiple lilacs in each and both need pruning. I have read that there are two ways to prune a lilac to reinvigorate it: one is to cut one third of the stems to the ground, and the other is to cut back all stems by 1/3 their length. My father would just chop off every stem of a lilac at around 4 feet in height and they always came back fine for him. The heavy and deep snow this winter managed to break a lot of my lilac stems, so half the work was done for me. :)
raymondz7a
6 days ago
Suzy – many years ago in the house I previously lived in I had

Syringa pubescens subsp. microphylla 'Superba' (Littleleaf Lilac).

It was planted in front of a white rail fence and was very easy to maintain annually as I could reach all parts. It was also very attractive. In my current house I inherited a common Lilac (12 footer) which is on a bit of a hill and it is a bear to maintain and produce good flowers. Last year I cut out stems to the ground and cut several branches back. I had good flowering this year (sorry - no photos) but it’s ongoing work. If I ever planted another Lilac, it would be Syringa microphylla.