Imagine walking on a beautiful day in the middle of May. The sun is shining. Perhaps some birds are singing. You feel a warm breeze on your face. Your fifth sense is suddenly engaged by a heavenly smell. Dollars will get you donuts that you have been enchanted by that harbinger of spring, the Lilac.
Fragrance is what makes a lilac so captivating, and one of the most planted shrubs for generations. If she had a yard, your great gramma had at least one and your mom probably did, too. The word lilac defines both a unique color and an aroma. And the plants are remarkably easy to grow. Provide them with at least 8 hours of sun, well-drained soil and room to spread out. A lilac planted under a window can scent your dreams. A trio placed at the edge of a patio can shelter a seating area. A tree form can give a border a sense of scale. The possibilities are endless.
When we’re considering planting a lilac, most of us are picturing the Common Lilac, Syringa vulgaris, which blooms for the couple of weeks around Mother’s Day. The genus is pretty diverse though and some interesting hybrids have been introduced lately that can extend the bloom period from a couple of weeks to a few months.
The first to bloom are those hybrids that I alluded to. The aptly-named S. ‘Bloomerang Dark Purple’ and its cousin, the soft pink ‘Scent & Sensibility’ edge out the common lilacs by a week or so. Both varieties are compact in size, growing to 3-4 feet tall and 4-6 feet wide, and both are very sweetly fragrant. The spring bloom is really lovely, with lots of small flowers on lacy looking panicles. The shrub does take a bit of a break, beginning to re-bloom in July and continuing to frost. The breeders say that it isn’t necessary to deadhead the spent spring flowers, but a light shear will tidy the plant’s overall form.
Next are the common lilacs, often called French Lilacs. They bloom in a wide range of romantic hues, from the palest pink ‘Beauty of Moscow’ to the deep violet of ‘Yankee Doodle’. The level of fragrance can vary too, so if that’s what you’re after, make sure to check. Common lilacs can grow quite large. It isn’t unusual to see older plants that are 10-12 feet high. Rejuvenation pruning is the best way to keep them in control. Every few years, remove a few of the oldest branches right to the ground. New suckers will take their place. But please don’t make the mistake of hacking them back to control their size. It takes years to recover and destroys the inherent shape of the plant. If you have a smaller area, choose a smaller variety. At 4-6 feet high, the lavender flowered ‘Tiny Dancer’ would be a good pick.
While the common lilacs are finishing, the dwarf varieties are gearing up for their place in the spotlight. Dwarf Korean Lilac, S. meyeri ‘Palibin’, and S. pubescens subsp. patula ‘Miss Kim’ will both give you a mounded 4-6 feet high by 6-8 feet wide shape blanketed in very fragrant, soft lilac-pink flowers. And I can’t emphasize the word very enough. This is the perfect lilac for that spot next to a window or near a porch where you will get a whiff every day that it’s in bloom. The plants are similar. But ‘Miss Kim’ has a larger leaf and will give you some fall color.
The main lilac season finishes up with the Japanese Tree Lilacs, S. reticulata. You’ve probably noticed their frothy, cream colored flowers and shiny, exfoliating bark on many sidewalk terraces in the area. If you’d like to see how magnificent a tree lilac can be, stroll over to the Camp Randall Arch on a nice mid-summer evening. Most of us don’t have quite so much space, so check out ‘Ivory Silk’, a variety that grows to a more manageable 20 feet high by 15 feet wide.
And after a little summer heat, those hybrids will begin blooming again, giving your garden color and fragrance for another few weeks. For a lilac related treat, check out UW’s Longenecker Horticultural Gardens’ annual Lilac and Crabapple Walk on Saturday May 6th from 1-3PM. A LHG curator will lead the tour, focusing on the history of this collection of two of the Midwest’s most favorite woody plants. This will be a perfect way to experience many of the lilac’s different species and varieties.