Advice on Pruning My Lilac For Size

6 days ago

Lilac experts:

I am in Zone 4B Minneapolis and have this lilac tree in this area in front of my dining room. It faces west and blooms vigorously. I prune it every year immediately after blooming. As you can see from the picture today in November, even with pruning earlier, it completely fills the space. I saw a video online where a landscaper pruned one extensively in late winter, sacrificing the blooms for that year, but reduced the size of the plant. If I attempt this late winter, where exactly do I make my cuts? I read about only taking 1/3 of the branches at a time, but I am not sure that is going to give me an all over smaller tree.

I AM AWARE IF I PRUNE IT THEN I WILL GET NO BLOOMS IN THE SPRING. Any thoughts on this?

Thank you!

Featured Answer

Molly D. Zone4B
Original Author

4 days ago

Thanks all-

My issue isnt so much about light…it’s that after the spring pruning it continues to grow and branches hit the house and the pillar. I‘ve thought about being even more agressive and taking more length during that early prune, but i think its like Gardengal said,

it ”wants” to be a certain size. Thanks for the tips about the roots. If i move it I will hire landscapers…

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Comments (7)

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
6 days ago
FWIW, pruning trees or shrubs "to size" is not a recommended practice or a generally accepted pruning method. Consistent hard pruning can weaken the tree, encouraging pest and disease issues. And to maintain the size you want, hard pruning would need to be a pretty constant practice as the lilac will want to grow to its usual size and will quickly replace/regrow what was removed.

Have you considered moving the lilac from its too confined siting and replacing it with something that stays within bounds?
Molly D. Zone4B thanked gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
kitasei2
6 days ago
Gardengal, is a lilac different from trees that are coppiced every year and often live more than a hundred?
Molly D. Zone4B thanked kitasei2
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floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
6 days ago
It is different if you want flowers. Coppicing is done for wood or foliage production, not blooms.

OPs tree is a standard. Coppicing would cut it to the ground. Pollarding would create a blob on a stick with no flowers if done annually. It would also encourage long whippy growth.

I agree that it's not in a good position but if OP wishes to pollard they'll sacrifice bloom, which they know. It doesn't matter where the cuts are made as long as they're immediately above a leaf axil.
Molly D. Zone4B thanked floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
Molly D. Zone4B
Original Author
6 days ago
Thank you all for this good information. I hadn’t thought abouut moving it, but may have to consider that. It was planted when we built 8 years ago. I was hoping to get a couple more years in its current space. I am not familiar with the term pollarding but I will look into that. Thanks!
Jj J
4 days ago
If you decide to move it, I will wish for you a very strong back! When I moved to my current home 3 years ago, there were three lilacs growing in deep shade in my front yard. Two were large, mature trees, and moving them was no easy task! I re-homed them to neightbors and moved the smaller one to my back yard. Then spent a couple of days recovering...
Molly D. Zone4B thanked Jj J
Sigrid
4 days ago
If you move the tree, you want to cut the roots on one half of the root circle in the fall (or spring) at the width of the crown. Then, in the spring (or fall), you do the other half. Then, you move it. Or wait another season to move it. Massively prune and water in well.

What's your issue with it? Rather than cutting all the branches back, you might try removing some. If you remove some branches back to the trunk each year, you'll thin it out, allowing more light into your DR. You can do this spring or fall.
Molly D. Zone4B thanked Sigrid