I AM HALFWAY THROUGH a long season of lilac blooms that started before the first of May this year and looks to have another 10 days to go, weather depending. Meet the gang (wish I had scratch-and-sniff technology here for you).
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Agincourt Beauty’
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Little Boy Blue’
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Sensation’
- Syringa hyacinthiflora ‘Blanche Sweet’
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Marie Frances’
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Wedgwood Blue’
- Syringa vulgaris ‘Avalanche’
- Syringa vulgaris
- Syringa hyacinthiflora ‘Mount Baker’














pruning lilacs
and the hits… (part 2)
slideshow: 8 favorite garden ephemerals 






A “Miss Kim” thrived in a hot corner, outgrowing its space. Against advice, we dug it out and popped it into a shadier hole elsewhere with same exposure. That was two+ years ago, and no blossoms have been seen at all. Is there hope for our Kim?
@Peterpepper: Shade isn’t a favorite of most flowering trees and shrubs. I’d expect it might sulk the year after transplant and not worry, but if it’s more than two years already, sounds like the wrong spot (unless you pruned off the flower bus with a late or very early pruning, or fed it lots of Nitrogen?). Sounds like it wants more light.
I have pruned back overgrown Miss Kim lilacs rather severely after flowering, and they came back nicely and resumed flowering. Keep in full to partial sun…lilacs need sun exposure to flower well.