How much water do lilacs need

None of my local nurseries can answer my questions, although I am now trying a new systemic and at one nursery suggestion, a new fertilizer as her thought was I was "starving" the plant. Does this sound familiar? Can you help with a potential solution? Thank you so much. Hello I got a lilac bush that I transplanted 4 years ago and it bloomed good last year and I noticed it made new buds in July and in late September the buds broke open and the flower buds for this spring has opened and froze so what caused this and what can I do to prevent this from happening again?

You need to protect the lilac from early or late-season freezes by covering them. You can use plastic, or bed sheeting, burlap, tarps, or whatever is large enough BUT you have to keep the covering from touching the lilac.

Contact with the cover means contact with the freeze, so avoid contact. Use frame often homemade or stakes or, for example, a ladder and drape the cover over the plant. Clothes pins will sometimes hold the cover in place. You should not need to leave the cover on if no freeze is forecast. I got a new, small, bush last year miss Kim and a mouse or mole routed through the roots leaving it the appearance of being dead.

We planted what was left again with little hope but it did start putting out leaves about half way through the summer. Help for a newbie to lilacs? I have a very old lilac bush my mothers she got it from my grandmother well it has something on its trunk blueish green scales and dying what can I do to save it and the leaves are powdery. I bought a lilac bush at a fair about 7 years ago. I t was about 4 feet tall. My son planted in a sunny place that gets sun all day.

It is healthy and gets very small blooms every year but looks like it hasn't grown an inch since it was planted. Our town is known for lilac's and they grow all over town. I don't understand why mine won't grow. Are leaves 3 inches or about 1 inch.

If no longer than approx 1 inch. My lilac is about 5 years old and has never bloomed and although it has grown, not as it should have. I would say it is about 3 to 4 foot high for a 5 year old bush. I planted it where i had removed an above ground pool and was wondering if the sand that was used to level the pool on installation could be the reason. I don't see any sand, so it has worked it's way into the dirt. Any suggestions?

I am trying to find out what is going on with my old fashion lilac. I started it from a sapling about 15 years. It has four off shoots that are probably 10 years old. This year the flowers again where huge and gorgeous.

But I have now noticed the density of the leaves is really sparse they are yellowing with some brown spots. I don't know what to do. I planted seedlings 3 yrs ago, some are 6' tall and some 3' tall, I haven't pruned them yet and haven't had any flowers yet, should I prune them back a little will that help?

Thank you Frank. Are you fertilizing these plants? Too much nitrogen will favor leaf formation over flowers. Do not fertilize. They do like soil with a pH of 6. Do a soil test—even a simple one—and see if the pH is within the range. Skip to main content. You are here Gardening » Growing Guides. By Catherine Boeckmann. Huge blooms, wonderful scent. Wally Patrick. Lilacs thrive in fertile, humus-rich, well-drained, neutral to alkaline soil at a pH near 7. If your soil is in poor condition, add compost to enrich.

Learn more about soil amendments and preparing soil for planting. For strong bloom, lilacs require full sun—at least 6 hours—or they will not flower well. Make sure the site drains well.

Plant in either spring or fall, although the latter is preferred. Your sucker will look pathetic at first but just dig a hole, backfill it with soil, and stick the sucker in. Then water and wait. Transplanting lilacs from a nursery is also easy. Set the plant 2 or 3 inches deeper than it grew in the nursery, and work topsoil in around the roots. Water in. Then fill in the hole with more topsoil. Space multiple lilac bushes 5 to 15 feet apart, depending on the variety.

Each spring, apply a layer of compost under the plant, followed by mulch to retain moisture and control weeds. Water during the summer if rainfall is less than 1 inch per week. They can handle a handful of in late winter, but no more. Generally, lilacs require little care and maintenance. You're thinking about buying a lilac and need to know when to plant it? You should plant your new tree or shrub in the spring or fall.

Lilacs prefer soils whose pH is neutral or slightly alkaline. Fertilize using a fertilizer that is rich in phosphorus and potassium in early spring. It is recommended to prune your plant right after it has finished flowering. At the same time, remove old, diseased or dead branches. If you also remove wilted blooms, you will allow your lilac to flower even more the following spring.

There are several harmful diseases and parasites that plague lilacs. The most common include: bacterial blight, powdery mildew, leafminer and Spanish fly. Did you know lilacs and buddleias, also called "butterfly bush", are often mistaken for each other? Lilacs have a greater resistance to cold than buddleias.

Buddleias grow much faster than lilacs and they can reach up to eight feet in a single season. Buddleias also adapt to all kinds of soils, including mediocre and calcareous soils. Lilacs mainly flower towards the middle of spring, whereas buddleias flower from summer until fall.

Established shrubs can tolerate short periods of drought like conditions without damage. Longer periods of dry conditions can cause the leaves and the stems of the lilac to wilt. Under these circumstances, give your shrub 1 to 2 inches of water weekly to avoid wilting. Freshly planted lilac shrubs need to be checked often. Water whenever the top inch of the soil becomes dry, usually once or twice a week.

Water slowly to ensure that the plant is getting a good drink. Regular watering during the first year of growth is recommended. Once the lilac is established, occasional watering once every days is best. Too much water can drown the plant. Careful not to underwater the shrub, as lilacs will not thrive in dry soil.

If your lilac plant is growing in a container, keep the soil fairly moist. Newly planted shrubs should be watered times per week for the first month. After the first month, water your plant deeply once a week. Moisten the soil to a 12 inch depth, usually 2 inches of water per plant. Do not overwater your lilac. Lilac shrubs will require the most watering during the peak blooming time, which is spring time.

During the summer months, if your area receives an inch of rainfall every 10 days or so, lilac plants will be fine. Less than an inch of rain will require additional watering. In extremely dry conditions, give your shrub a good slow soaking with a trickling water hose.