How to Take Care of a Young Lilac Tree

Purple Lilac (Syringa spp.)

While there's nothing special about a lilac (Syringa spp.) out of bloom, when it's "show time" these trees or shrubs are hard to out-perform.
Lilacs reward the gardener's patience with enormous, fragrant blooms in the spring. Caring for lilacs is easy once you know the needs of this beautiful, deciduous shrub.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Plant the bare-root lilac tree in the late winter or even the early spring. If the tree is in a container, it can be planted at any time of year. Plant a young lilac tree or shrub in an area that gets full sun or in the hottest climates, light shade.

2. Ensure that the planting site has good drainage. Two things lilacs don't tolerate well is bad drainage and being crowded in by other plants. They grow best in an areas with ample air circulation.

3. Dig the hole for the lilac at least twice as wide and twice as deep as the root ball. It's always a good idea to dig some lime into the hole where the tree will be planted, as lilacs prefer slightly alkaline soils.

4. After you have placed the lilac tree into the hole, fill the hole by alternating the soil that was dug out and compost, humus or leaf mold. Fill the hole to just cover the root ball.

5. Especially in areas where there are strong winds, young lilac trees benefit from staking for the first year after they are planted. Young lilacs need regular watering until they are established in the yard or garden. Once established, lilac trees or shrubs need minimal watering.

6. Until the lilac has become established, pinch back any stems that are over-long. You'll want to prune immediately after the lilac blooms and remove a few of the oldest stems that are a few inches above the ground each year. This will encourage vigorous growth.

Tips & Warnings

• While lilacs make great specimen plantings, they also adapt well as hedges and are stunning as a mass planting.

• Be sure to prune just after flowering ends as most lilac species flower off of the wood that was formed the previous year. You don't want to end up pruning off the following year's blooms.