How to Prune Lilac
Lilac bushes produce mounds of beautiful blooms each year, and often grow to be up to 10 feet tall. It is recommended that you properly prune your lilac bush once a year to maintain its shape and productivity. With just a few minutes of care, you can ensure that your plant blooms successfully the following year, and will last for years to come. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Prune your lilac bush once per year as soon as it has finished blooming. Since the blooms for next year form early, you may risk cutting off next years blooms if you wait too long to prune your lilac.
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Cut some of the larger stems from the middle of your lilac bush. You may need to use lopping shears for these larger stems, as they can be too thick to cut with hand pruners. Cutting a few of the large stems from the center of the plant will keep it from becoming too crowded, increase plant ventilation and help prevent diseases.
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Trim off any runners or small shoots that are growing at the base of your lilac bush. These small runners not only damage the overall appearance of your bush, but also suck needed nutrients from the main lilac bush.
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Shape your lilac bush by cutting off any branches that stick out from the main bush and don't fall into the regular shape of the lilac.
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Round off the top of your lilac bush. It is not recommended that you flatten the top of your lilac, as they are not hedges, and this is not a productive shape for them.
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Remove any dead or unproductive old wood branches from your lilac bush with hand pruners or lopping shears. By removing the dead branches and a few of the old wood branches, you are helping to stimulate new growth to keep your lilac healthy.
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Continue to lightly shape your lilac bush as new growth appears, but do not trim the tops again, as that is where the buds for next year have already formed. Visit the resource below for more information on how to properly care for lilacs.
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Tips & Warnings
Be sure to prune your lilac as soon as it has finished blooming, to avoid cutting off the blooms for the following year.
Use a rounded shape for the top of your lilac bush instead of a flattening it off.
Do not use hedge trimmers on you lilac bush, as it is not a hedge and the trimmers will make it too boxy looking.
Use caution when using loping shears or hand pruners.
Resources
- Photo Credit http://leslieland.com/
