Lilac planting: features and basic rules. Lilac: description of varieties, planting and care in the suburbs White lilac care and cultivation

Lilac is a shrub native to the Olive family. Today, there are more than a dozen of its varieties, most common in South-Eastern Europe. Varieties of lilacs differ in the color of the flowers and are different in the rules of care. It is very popular in Russia: people grow it on their plots, gardens and adjacent territories. Planting a lilac is a simple procedure. The main rule is properly prepared soil, fed with special fertilizers.

Description of the bush

Lilac has whole opposite leaves that fall in winter. Flowers pink, purple or white. They are located in panicles, ending branches. Small bell-shaped calyx with 4 teeth. The corolla is cylindrical in shape, which has a four-part bend. The lilac has two stamens that are well attached to the tube. Ovary single with double stigma.

Today, one of the common types of lilac that is used for planting is the common lilac. Such a shrub has a luxurious appearance, captivates not only with beautiful flowers, but also with a pleasant smell. Lilac is easy to plant, unpretentious in care, takes root well in open ground.

Today, more than 10 varieties of lilac are known.

Place to land

The best place for planting lilacs will be moist soil with neutral acidity. Lilac bushes love sunlight, so most of the time it should be under the sun.

Such a plant does not grow in swampy areas; a lot of water provokes rotting of the root system. If there is no other place to plant, then lilacs are recommended to be planted on hills that are well lit by the sun. In the shade, the plant does not bloom well.

When to plant

Experienced summer residents recommend planting lilac bushes in late summer and early autumn. Thus, the seedlings will take root well and are likely to endure the winter well. The time for landing is chosen in the morning or evening. Planting a bush is not recommended in the scorching sun; cloudy weather will be the best time. In order to plant lilac, prepare the soil in advance.

Lilac preparation for planting

To properly plant a lilac, you need to prepare in advance. 2-3 weeks before planting, dig deep holes - about 40 cm in diameter, 30-45 cm deep. In addition, it is important to properly prepare the soil for planting. Each pit is filled with the top layer of fertile soil, to which it is necessary to add rotted, peat and humus. Next, about 20 kg of organic top dressing is applied. If the soil is acidic, add 2 kg of lime. Sandy soils contain little magnesium, so calcareous tufa is introduced into such soil in the form of dolomite flour. Mineral fertilizers are also added to each well:

• - 1 kg;
• phosphate rock - 0.3 kg;
• potassium sulfate - 100 g;
• wood ash - 800 g.

After mixing all the fertilizers, it is necessary to apply them to the soil so that the main part gets to the very bottom of the pit.

Lilac planting

By planting a lilac in the country, you can not only admire the enchanting beauty in your area, but also enjoy the pleasant aroma of its flowers. Landing can be done in spring or closer to autumn. Experienced summer residents recommend planting bushes in the fall.

Before proceeding with the planting process, it is necessary to inspect the root system for damage. If the root of the plant is damaged, it is cut with garden shears. After pruning, the root must be dipped in a mash of clay and manure.

If the holes are not prepared before planting the lilacs, then they are filled to the middle and compacted well. Next, a small hill is made from the ground where the root of the plant is placed. It is important to direct the root system in different directions. To avoid deepening of the bush after the soil has settled, the neck of the root is placed 5 cm above ground level. After sprinkling the root with 5 cm of a layer of fertilized soil, the pit is covered with the rest of the earth, gently trampling underfoot. Compaction should be done with care so as not to damage the root of the plant. Around the bush, a roller is made of earth 10-20 cm high, forming a hole for good watering. One bush is 20 liters of water. After the moisture is absorbed, a layer of dry soil is laid down and mulching with peat is carried out - 5 cm. Lilacs should be planted in the soil in accordance with all the rules, otherwise there will be no abundant flowering.

How to care

Lilac - the plant is not whimsical, it does not require special rules for care.

It is recommended to plant bushes in early spring or autumn. The best time to plant is in September. The only important rule in caring for a plant is regular watering. This is especially true for young bushes. Mature plants are watered during the dry season.

Lilac pruning

In the spring, the bush requires pruning of dried branches, and those branches that grow inside the plant. Panicles that have already faded are also cut off, but very carefully, without damaging the shoots - soon new flowers will appear on them. Such bushes do not require special conditions of detention, but regular watering and pruning are important rules.

If you cut the lilac in the fall, then next year it may not bloom.

By mistake, you can cut off shoots with formed buds, which can provoke poor flowering or none at all.

Bush formation

To properly form a bush, you need to create a foundation. The lilac bush is formed from 3-4 stem branches. In the first year, branches that grow crooked must be removed.

The following year, only those shoots that grow inward are pruned. Thus, the crown of the plant without voids evenly overgrows. After this is done, cutting the lilac is not recommended.

top dressing

The plant needs feeding, but not all. It is worth being careful with nitrogen and, otherwise the plant will not bloom and will not tolerate winter frosts well.

The best fertilizer for lilacs will be the introduction of complex dressings in the spring and potassium-phosphate fertilizers after flowering. Loosening the soil is done with care, trying not to damage the root of the plant.

reproduction

Lilac bushes can be propagated in several ways:

• seeds;
• cuttings;
• root growth;
• vaccination.

Reproduction by seeds

Wild lilac reproduces by seed. It is recommended to sow them in autumn or spring. Before planting, the seed undergoes a two-month hardening at a temperature of 2 to 5 degrees. Such lilacs are planted in spring in March in boxes with well-steamed soil. The first shoots appear already on the 10th day. When the leaves are formed, the plants are transplanted into seedling boxes. Later, the seedlings dive. After picking, the bushes are planted in May - early June.

Before planting seeds, it is necessary to carry out the hardening procedure.

Reproduction by cuttings

Lilacs of other varieties are propagated by cuttings closer to spring; grafting and branching methods are also used. Cuttings are carried out at the beginning of flowering. Such a cutting should have one knot and two buds. A cut is made at the bottom, having previously retreated 1 cm from the kidney, the lower leaves are removed.

Planting material can be treated with a growth stimulant. The cutting is planted to a depth of 1 cm.

Reproduction by root shoots

The first growth should be separated in early summer. Before proceeding with reproduction in this way, the soil should be well moistened. It is better to do the procedure on a cloudy day in order to avoid drying out the roots. The length of such roots should be no more than 5 cm. Wet peat or sand is placed on the bottom of a special box for picking. Seedlings are planted in boxes and sprayed from a spray bottle. Next, the boxes are sent to a cool place.

Graft

The graft is done with a dormant bud or cuttings. You can bud the plant in the summer with a dormant bud, in the spring - which has just begun to wake up. When budding in the spring, the cuttings should be prepared in February and stored in the cold in small bundles wrapped in newspaper. The survival rate of such cuttings is 80%. They will endure the winter well, will not be susceptible to diseases.

The stock begins to be prepared from mid-summer. To do this, lateral high branches up to 15 cm are cut off from the plant and shoots are removed.

It is worth taking into account: it is not recommended to cut the lilac before budding, as the cut places may not have time to heal.

The thickness of the root neck of the stock should vary from 0.5 to 1.5 cm. The bark of the plant should be well separated from the trunk. Therefore, a week before grafting a bush, it must be well watered.

On the day on which the budding is planned, the stock is unraveled, and the place where the branch will be grafted is wiped with a wet cloth. Cuttings are prepared for budding as they mature. A good thickness of one cutting is 3-5 mm, length is about 30 cm.

Such cuttings are stored in the cold for 10 days with wet moss or sawdust.

From a mature shoot, you can fully get from 10 to 15 buds. The best time for budding is mid-July.

Fight against diseases and insects

Like any plant, lilac is susceptible to disease. One of the most dangerous for this plant are lilac moth and bacterial necrosis.

Lilac moth

The disease affects the green part of the bush - the leaves. At the beginning of the disease, they become covered with brown spots, and then curl and dry. Such a bush is very similar to a burnt one. Unfortunately, the mining moth completely kills the plant, and the next year it no longer blooms.

Fighting moths is not difficult at all. To do this, it is recommended to carry out preventive digging of the soil around the bush. Cut and burn damaged shoots in time.

Bacterial necrosis

Most common in August. Transmission of the disease occurs through water, poor-quality planting material or with the help of insect pests. Bacterial necrosis overwinters in the tissues of diseased branches, fallen leaves. Lilac affected by this disease has gray leaves and brown shoots. At the beginning of the disease, the green part of the plant and up the shoots are affected, then the disease goes down.

To protect lilacs from such a disease, it is important to carry out pest prevention in a timely manner. Also, preventive measures include burning fallen leaves and diseased branches of the bush. If the bush is completely affected, it is recommended to dig it up and burn it, otherwise the disease will affect everything around.

Bacterial necrosis is a dangerous disease for lilacs. Do not neglect preventive measures.

Lilac transplant

Not many people know that a plant like lilac requires a transplant. During the period of active growth, the bush takes from the soil all the elements it needs. The process of absorption of substances takes place quite actively, even regardless of whether fertilizers were applied during planting.

Before the transplant process, a pit is prepared. Preparation is carried out according to the same principle as for planting - the soil is fertilized with mineral top dressing.

Before transplanting, the bush is inspected for the presence of dry branches that must be removed. After inspection, the bush is placed in a deep hole.

The transplant site should be fertilized in advance with fertilizers and well lit by the sun.

It is worth remembering: the root of the plant must be branched in different directions.

Transplanting a lilac bush promotes active growth and abundant flowering of the bush.

Lilac is a plant that is unpretentious in care, but requires important rules in maintenance. Proper care of the plant will provide the gardener with beautiful bushes in an area with abundant flowering.

Lilac is a flowering shrub with lush clusters of delicate flowers, pleasing no less delicate and delicate aroma. This plant lends itself well to pruning, which allows you to decorate the site with single decorative forms, and groups, and even live fences.

Where to plant lilac

The best conditions for lilacs are as follows: flat place; the soil is moist, with good drainage and acidity close to neutral; the passage of groundwater at least one and a half meters from the surface; sun exposure most of the day; shelter from drafts. Lilac does not grow in swampy or often flooded areas. In these cases, if there is no other possibility, it is planted on the hills, poured following the example of an alpine hill.

Acidic soil must be treated with lime or dolomite flour before planting. Lilac tolerates partial shade, and in the shade it weakens, growth and development slows down, blooms poorly and not plentifully. But in a lighted place it is a bright shrub with lush greenery, strong shoots and many inflorescences.

In areas open to the wind, especially in the cold season, lilac buds freeze, which affects flowering. Choose a warm sunny place for planting, sheltered from the wind, for example, among perennial tall plants.

When and how to plant lilac

Lilacs take root well, all she needs is compliance with planting conditions, healthy planting material and attentive care.

Did you know? Once the ancient Greek goat-like god Pan was inflamed with feelings for the nymph Syringa. The beauty ran away in fright, not responding to Pan's sympathy. Fleeing from Pan, who was pursuing her, Syringa stopped at the river, which blocked her path. She called for the help of the river god, and he turned her into a lush bush with delicate purple flowers. Since then, lilac has been called the name of a beautiful nymph.

The optimal time for planting shrubs

The best time to plant lilacs is August-September. During this period, seedlings have time to take root before frost. Plant the plant in the evening or on a cloudy day. It is possible to plant in the spring before the awakening of the kidneys. In this case, it is necessary to prepare the soil for planting in the fall.

How to choose planting material

The solution to the question: how to breed lilacs on the site, begins with the choice of a seedling. A lilac seedling should have green leaves, a well-branched root system with densely growing thin roots.

The best age for a seedling is 2-3 years, the plant can be both grafted and own-rooted, and the growth of the seedling is from 50 to 70 cm, the diameter of the root lobe is about 30 cm. Such plants tolerate transplantation more easily and take root more easily, their root system is less injured. Keep this in mind for the future when you dig up your own seedlings: the roots cannot be damaged, the seedling is dug out with a clod of earth.

Lilac planting scheme

When planting, first, deal with the pit for the seedling: in fertile soil, the depth of the fossa is equal to the length of the roots (up to 30 cm), on poor soils, the pit has a meter by meter size. Lay drainage at the bottom of the pit (brick fragments, large pebbles), fertilize with soil mixed with humus (15 kg), wood ash (200 g), superphosphate (30 g).

Plant a bush, spreading the roots, leave the root collar at ground level, if you do not want a lot of root shoots to develop, 2 cm above ground level. If you plan to propagate by shoots, on the contrary, deepen the root collar. Sprinkle the seedling with soil, compact around the trunk and water. After the soil absorbs water, mulch with peat or other material.

How and what to feed the lilac

If the soil was well fertilized during planting, top dressing is not needed in the first 2-3 years. Further, to stimulate growth, lilacs are fertilized in spring with nitrogen compounds, and for better flowering, with phosphorus. Once every 2 years, they are fed with potash fertilizers after flowering.

Important! Nitrogen mineral fertilizers are contraindicated in the second part of the growing season. You can not overdo it with nitrogen: lilac blooms worse, sprouts more, which do not have time to get stronger and freeze in the winter.

Do not abuse organic nitrogen fertilizers for lilacs in the spring: manure, chicken droppings - this will also affect flowering. Lilac watering is needed in the first year after planting for a good survival rate of seedlings. Adult bushes are watered only during dry periods.

Rules for pruning lilacs, do I need to trim it

To keep the bushes neat and elegant, lilac pruning is necessary. Fading, lilac partially loses its attractiveness. By nature, the shoots of the bush grow too quickly and a little sloppy: in all directions, thickening greatly.

When is lilac pruning needed?

The optimal time is the period before the sap begins to move along the branches - early spring. In summer, only damaged or useless shoots are removed. When to prune lilacs, the calendar will tell you: in summer, the results of pruning can be used as cuttings or scion. After the flowering period, dry inflorescences are carefully removed, try not to damage the leaves. Broken and dried branches can be removed from the shrub during the entire period of development - flowering. Grafted plants are cleaned mainly from abundant wild growth.

Attention! It is not recommended to form lilac bushes in autumn - in winter, a branch that has not healed from a cut will freeze.

How to trim correctly

Shaping the bush "under the natural" will look good against the backdrop of a rustic style in the garden. To form such a crown, create a base. The bush is formed from 3 - 4 stem branches, removing in the first year all crookedly growing and inwardly directed branches. If 2 branches approximately the same in development are formed, growing crosswise, one of them, the weaker one, is removed. The branches of the base are shortened by half the length, leaving the buds oriented in the direction of growth of future branches.

In the second year, all branches that have grown inside the bush are cut off, annual shoots are cut to buds, from which shoots forming a shape will grow. The main task this year is to evenly overgrow the crown, without voids and chaotic directions. Once this is done, trimming is stopped. Next, you need to maintain shape, sometimes removing damaged or growing inward branches, unnecessary shoots.

If there are a lot of bushes, shaping can be made easier. For the first couple of years, let the bush develop freely, and then cut off all the weak shoots that interfere with each other, leaving the strong ones. After flowering, you can carefully shorten the branches so that they all look the same.

To form a lilac in the form of a tree - a trunk - an annual bush is shortened at the height of the trunk, leaving 3-4 buds. The shoots that have grown from these buds are formed in the same way as a bush, laying the basis of the crown from them. Next, you need to cut off all the shoots in the stem area and thin out the crown.

Lilac reproduction

There are several ways to propagate lilacs. Having understood them, each gardener will choose the most suitable one for himself.

Interesting! Elizabeth I Tudor, Queen of England and Ireland, was delighted with the gift of the Austrian emperor. The Austrian autocrat brought a purple bush from Istanbul. Lilac has become one of the Queen's favorite flowers.

seeds

Seeds are collected in late autumn in wet weather so that the seeds do not accidentally wake up. The seed pods are dried for several days, the seeds are shaken out of them, removing debris.

Seeds need to be stratified: sprinkle with wet sand, fill in containers with holes at the bottom and send for 2 months to a room with a temperature of 0 to 5 degrees Celsius. In March, they are sown in a box with steamed earth (for disease prevention). Depending on the variety, seedlings appear after 10 days or 2-3 months.

When the second pair of leaves is formed, the sprouts dive into seedling boxes at a distance of 3 cm. They are planted in open ground in the month of May. You can sow before winter in a snowy crust. Seeds are buried 1.5 cm into the ground, and in the spring they dive into boxes and grow.

cuttings

Cutting lilacs with lignified shoots does not give results, it is rather an exception to the rule. Consider reproduction by green shoots. Harvest cuttings at the beginning of flowering. The cutting should have 1 internode and 2 buds. The lower cut is made, stepping back 1 cm from the kidney, the leaves are removed. For better rooting, treat with a growth stimulator before planting. Plant to a depth of 1 cm.

Propagation of lilacs by cuttings in the spring is also possible at home: you can root in a container with a transparent lid. To do this, prepare nutrient soil and coarse sand. The temperature should be maintained within 25-28 degrees Celsius. Spray the sprouts daily with water from a spray bottle. A month later, roots form, and in the fall they can be planted in the ground on the site, protecting them from freezing.

Root growth

The first growth is separated in early June before the shoots turn brown. Before separating, the soil around the donor bush must be moistened. Since the roots are still weak, carry out the procedure on a cloudy day so that they do not dry out. The length of the roots should be 3-5 cm. Put wet sand or peat on the bottom of the dive box, plant seedlings there and spray with water. Then plant in a cold greenhouse at a distance of 5 cm.

The first 7 days the plants are under the film and sprayed twice a day. Then the film is removed, and watering occurs as needed. The optimal growing period is two growing seasons. Then the bushes are planted in a permanent place. Care consists in maintaining soil moisture and thinning if necessary. The soil of tree trunks is mulched.

Mass flowering of such bushes begins at 5-7 years of age. Despite late flowering, this method of reproduction gives the shrub longevity.

Inoculation

There are several methods of vaccination, let's talk about the most common of them.

Copulation- this is a method when the tissues of the scion and rootstock most closely match. Rootstock and scion shoots should have the same thickness. Copulation is carried out at the root neck into a trunk at a selected height and into the crown. Each branch of the skeleton is grafted separately. With the correct implementation of the actions, after 2.5 months the scion grows together.

Copulation simple, or oblique cut carried out before the onset of sap flow. The stalk is cut at an angle of 45 degrees to 2 cm in length, the cut of the stock is also. The scion is pressed against the rootstock and tightly tied.

English copy. Sections are made at an angle of 45 degrees to the longitudinal axis of the branches. To increase the area of ​​​​contact and connect the scion and stock more densely and stronger, longitudinal cuts are made on both sections.

Lilac is a flowering shrub that is used for group and single plantings in city parks and home gardens. Lilac tolerates pruning and shaping, so you can make hedges from it.

Planting common lilac

The optimal planting time depends on the form in which the seedling went on sale. The best time to plant seedlings with open roots is early autumn. Lilac planting in the fall should be completed before the end of September.

Lilac leaves remain green until frost, so on a seedling intended for autumn planting, they should be green. If a lilac seedling without leaves is a bad sign, which means that the planting dates have passed. It must be placed in a dig until spring, as is done with seedlings of fruit trees.

The timing of planting lilacs in the spring is compressed. You need to have time to get the seedling from the pit and plant it in a permanent place before the buds open, so it’s better to prepare the pit in the fall - then you don’t have to shovel the frozen soil with a shovel. Planting lilacs in summer is possible if you purchase a seedling in a container.

Lilac takes root if no mistakes are made during planting:

1. Failure to meet deadlines.
2. Planting in acidic, structureless clay soil.
3. Landing in deep shade.
4. Landing on a swampy or temporarily flooded area in a lowland.

Lilac loves the light, but it will not die in partial shade, but will not bloom as luxuriantly as in the sun. As for the quality of the soil, this plant grows freely even on poor, uncultivated land. But the plant feels better on fertile loose soil with a reaction close to neutral.

Lilac does not tolerate flooding and soils with a soil solution reaction below 5.5, on which the leaves turn yellow and crumble. To successfully plant lilacs, the soil must be breathable.

How to plant lilac:

1. Dig a hole. The less cultivated the soil, the larger the pit should be. The free space in the pit is filled with fertile soil mixed with a small amount of compost or peat - up to 1/4 of the volume of the earth. In old lilac gardens, you can dig small holes - such that they only fit the roots of the seedling.
2. The grafted lilac is planted so that the grafting site is at the level of the soil. The graft should not be in the soil so that the plant does not move to its roots. An exception will be seedlings grafted onto Hungarian lilac or privet, which are planted with the graft deepened to make them more durable.
3. When planting, own-rooted lilacs are deepened to form additional roots.
4. The roots are covered with fertile soil and trample down the soil with their feet, forming a near-stem hole. First you need to make sure that the root neck is at the right level.
5. The hole is filled with plenty of water.

The planting of the Hungarian lilac, as well as the Persian and Amur, is carried out according to the same rules as in the case of the common lilac.

How to care for lilac

Caring for lilacs is no different from caring for most winter-hardy ornamental shrubs. Lilac tolerates cold, so it does not have to be insulated for the winter. Only in young grafted plants in the year of planting can the tree trunks be mulched with a thick layer of fallen leaves.

After planting, the plant is watered abundantly until it starts to grow. Watering lilacs is needed only when necessary - in the heat. Autumn moisture-charging watering for lilacs is not carried out.

In the first years, until the lilac blooms, fertilizers are not applied for it. Plants have enough organic matter added to the planting holes. Young bushes need loosening the soil, weeding and watering.

Lilac bush begins flowering in the third year. Then you can start the annual top dressing. Mineral fertilizers will make the brushes larger, brighter and more fragrant, and increase their number.

In the spring, before flowering, you need to have time to loosen the soil at least once in the near-stem circle and feed the plant with any complex mineral fertilizer that is soluble in water. The roots of lilacs are located superficially, so you need to loosen the soil carefully and shallowly.

Lilac care after flowering

Loosening and watering is stopped by the beginning of August, so as not to stimulate the growth of shoots. Wood must have time to mature by winter, and for this it needs to stop growing in time.

Caution should be exercised only with nitrogen fertilizers, with an excess of which the lilac begins to fatten, that is, instead of flowering, it will begin to throw out new shoots and leaves. On the other hand, in order to bloom annually, the bush must give normal growth, which is impossible without nitrogen. Here you have to look for the "golden mean" - for example, it is very moderate to feed the plant once a season with urea or mullein, and do it in early spring, when the buds are just starting to wake up.

Unlike nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium minerals will not bring anything but good. Phosphorus is applied in the fall, in early October, in the amount of 40 g. for young and 60 gr. on an adult bush. This element affects the size and quality of colors.

Potassium makes the plant hardy. After potash top dressing, flower buds tolerate frost well, do not freeze out, and the bush blooms profusely in spring. Potassium is added together with phosphorus at the rate of 3 tbsp. on a large mature bush.

Lilac loves top dressing with wood ash, since this substance, unlike mineral fertilizers, does not acidify, but alkalizes the soil. The ash is poured with cold water - 1 cup per 10 liters, insisted for 2 days and poured into each bush 2 buckets of this infusion. But first you need to water the plants with clean water so as not to burn the roots.

Bushes are fed with ash twice a season: immediately after flowering, when new flower buds are laid, and in October. If ash is applied, then mineral fertilizers do not need to be added in the fall.

Lilac pruning

Lilac is grown as a bush with several skeletal branches extending from the ground, but if desired, a tree can be formed from it on a low stem. In both cases, the bush will need enough space.

If the task is to get a harmoniously developed bush that will decorate the site with abundant flowering and a beautiful shape, then when choosing a place for planting a seedling, make sure that neighboring plants, fences and buildings are no closer than 1.2-2 m.

Growing lilacs

In order for the lilac to receive proper care, pruning must be systematic. The bush will have an attractive shape and will be able to bloom annually.

Kustom

Pruning is started when the plant begins to form skeletal branches. This happens in the third year.

Skeletal branches will later become the basis of the bush. Of course, the bush itself will form them. By intervening in this process in time, you can influence the future shape and size of the bush for the better.

In the third year, early in spring, while the buds are still dormant and the branches are not hidden by foliage and are clearly visible, up to 10 evenly spaced branches are found on the plant, which must be left. The rest of the branches are pruned.

In the future, they are limited to sanitary pruning, cutting out in early spring twigs growing inside the crown, dried up over the winter and damaged by pests. If necessary, sanitary pruning can be carried out at any time during the growing season. In the grafted lilac, wild shoots are removed in the spring.

When the lilac blooms, more than half of the flowering shoots can be cut from it without harming the plant and used to create bouquets. If they are not cut off, then next year there will be fewer shoots and flowering will be weak. Faded brushes should be removed immediately from the branches with a pruner so that they do not spoil the appearance of the bush.

Lilac flowers are best cut early in the morning, before the dew dries. In order for the flowers to stand in the water longer, the ends of the shoots should be split with a hammer or knife.

A bush older than 10 years old can be rejuvenated by removing one skeletal branch per year. New skeletal branches are formed from dormant buds that will bloom on the trunk next to the traces of cut branches.

in the form of a tree

1. Immediately after planting, remove all side branches, if any.
2. When the seedling begins to grow, all side branches are removed from it, while they are green and weak, leaving a stem growing upwards.
3. When the stem reaches the desired height - in the second year, pinch its top. After that, it will stop growing up and become a bole.
4. After pinching the top, dormant buds will wake up in the upper part of the trunk, from which several shoots will begin to grow upward. Of these, you can leave as much as the skeletal branches are expected from the future tree.

Experience shows that the optimal stem height for lilacs is 80-100 cm, and the upper 30 cm of the trunk should be occupied by side branches. With a lower stem - 50 cm, the tree does not look like a standard tree, and with a high one it is difficult to carry out sanitary pruning and cut flower brushes.

Making a lilac hedge

Amur lilac is suitable for use as a hedge, because after pruning, the branches do not stretch up much, like in other species. Another suitable low-growing Mayer lilac.

Saplings for the hedge, which is supposed to be cut annually at a height below human height, are planted a meter apart. Such a hedge will not bloom, but it looks neat. For a flowering hedge, lilac bushes are planted 1.5 meters apart.

In the second year, young, not yet lignified branches of neighboring bushes are intertwined with each other like a fishing net, fixing them in this position with a rope or soft wire. When such a fence grows, neither a person nor a large animal can get over it.

Lilac grows rapidly, and with regular watering, by the third year it forms a thick green "fence" that can be cut. High hedges are pruned after flowering, low ones at any time.

Lilac reproduction

Lilac can be propagated by seeds and vegetatively. With the seed method, parental characteristics are not preserved, therefore, the only method of propagation of planting material is vegetative, and the seed method is used only to obtain new varieties.

Ways of vegetative propagation of lilacs:

• vaccination;
• layering;
• green cuttings.

Reproduction by grafting allows you to quickly get a large amount of planting material of the same height. The method is available only to gardeners with skills.

Lilacs are grafted by cuttings or budding. For stock, take Hungarian lilac or privet.

"Hungarian" and privet are not very successful rootstocks for common lilac, since in this case two different species are merged into one. The resulting plant will not be durable. The life span depends on a lot of factors and is 2-20 years.

"Hungarian" and privet are often used in nurseries as a stock. The fact is that the seedlings grafted on them come to the middle lane from the southern regions. Privet is cut and transported, but in reality it is an unreliable stock, valuable only for its cheapness.

It is more convenient for the gardener to own root seedlings obtained from layering in amateur conditions or cuttings in industrial conditions. Own-rooted plants are durable and do not give wild shoots. Not all varieties of lilac are propagated by layering in amateur conditions, this is especially true for modern - fashionable and sophisticated varieties.

Reproduction by cuttings

Cuttings are harvested during flowering or immediately after. Branches from the middle part of the crown are suitable for cuttings, except for tops. Cuttings are cut from the branches, each should have 2 internodes.

Leaves are removed from the lower node. The top pair of leaf blades is cut in half.

The cuttings are dipped for several hours in a heteroauxin solution and planted in a greenhouse in a 1: 1 mixture of sand and peat, under plastic wrap or cut plastic bottles. The air under the film must always be moist, for which the cuttings are sprayed daily with a spray bottle, and the soil is watered. The roots on the cuttings appear no earlier than after 1.5 months.

After the roots grow back, the greenhouse is ventilated, starting with a few hours a day. Then the shelter is removed, leaving the cuttings to harden in the open air and not forgetting to water and weed from weeds. The cuttings are left to winter here, and the next year in the autumn they dig out and transplant to a permanent place.

At the beginning of May, it is pleasant to sit in the garden under a flowering lilac bush, breathing in a fresh and recognizable aroma. Planting and caring for her is not difficult, but a beautiful plant is worth it to devote a little time and work to it. It responds to any, the most modest care, responding with lush and long flowering.

Such a shrub as lilac is a representative of the olive family. According to information taken from various sources, this genus combines from 22 to 36 species. In nature, such species can be found in the mountainous regions of Eurasia. The genus lilac has a type species - the common lilac (Syringa vulgaris). Under natural conditions, such a shrub can be found along the lower reaches of the Danube, on the Balkan Peninsula and in the Southern Carpathians. Lilac is cultivated as an ornamental plant, and it also strengthens and protects slopes that are subject to erosion. In the second half of the 16th century, the Roman ambassador brought lilacs to European countries from Constantinople, since that time this plant has appeared in the gardens of Europe. The Turks called this shrub "lilac", and the inhabitants of Germany, Flanders and Austria gave it the name "lilac" or "Turkish viburnum".

At first, lilac was not in great demand among European gardeners, because it did not bloom for long, and loose inflorescences with small flowers did not have a high decorative effect. But everything changed after the Frenchman V. Lemoine received several dozen varieties of this plant, which were distinguished by lush and long flowering, as well as beautiful dense inflorescences with the correct shape. He also managed to develop several varieties with double flowers of various colors. Émile Lemoine continued his father's work, as did his son Henri. Thanks to the Lemoyans, 214 varieties of lilacs were born. Of the French lilac breeders paid attention to: Auguste Gouchot, Charles Balte and Francois Marel. At the same time, in Germany, Wilhelm Pfitzer and Ludwig Shpet worked on breeding new varieties of lilac. In Holland, at the beginning of the 20th century, new varieties of this shrub were born, and Klaas Kessen, Dirk Evelens Maarse, Jan van Tol and Hugo Coster worked on this, and the Polish breeder Karpov-Lipski also worked in this direction.

At the beginning of the 20th century, lilac became quite popular in North America, while its new varieties were born thanks to such breeders as John Dunbar, Gulda Klager, Theodore Havemeyer and other fairly well-known specialists in Canada and the United States. Also, new varieties of lilacs were bred in Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. To date, there are more than 2300 varieties of this plant, which differ in color, size and shape of flowers, flowering time, habit and size of bushes. 2/3 of all varieties were bred using common lilac.

Features of lilac

Lilac is a deciduous, multi-stemmed shrub whose height varies from 2 to 8 meters. The diameter of the trunks is about 0.2 meters. The color of the bark is brown-gray or gray. Young trunks are covered with a smooth bark, while old ones are fissured.

Foliage blooming occurs relatively early, while it keeps on the branches until the onset of frost. The length of the oppositely located leaf plates is about 12 centimeters, as a rule, they are solid, but there are also pinnately divided. In different species, the shape of the leaves may differ, so it can be heart-shaped, oval, ovoid or elongated, tapering at the top. The color of the foliage is dark or pale green. The length of the terminal drooping paniculate inflorescences is about 0.2 m, they include flowers that can be painted in lilac, blue, pink, white, purple or violet. The flowers have a short four-toothed bell-shaped calyx, 2 stamens and a corolla with a four-part flat limb and a long cylindrical tube. Many are interested in exactly when lilac flowers bloom. It depends on several factors, namely: the type, weather and climatic conditions. Such a shrub can bloom from the last days of April to the first - June. During the flowering of lilacs, the garden is filled with a unique, delicate and very pleasant aroma. The fruit is a bivalve box, inside it there are several winged seeds.

If the plant is provided with the most favorable conditions, then its life expectancy can be approximately 100 years. Lilacs are very easy to care for, hardy and one of the most popular ornamental shrubs, along with hydrangea and mock orange (garden jasmine).

Planting lilacs in the garden

What time to plant

The best time for planting lilacs in open soil is from mid-July to the first days of September. It is not recommended to plant such a shrub in spring or autumn, as it does not take root well and almost does not grow for 1 year. For planting, choose a sunny place with moderately moist soil saturated with humus, and its acidity should be 5.0–7.0.

When buying seedlings, be sure to carefully inspect their root system. You should opt for a plant with a well-developed and branched root system. Before planting a seedling, all injured roots that have begun to dry out and damaged by the disease should be cut out, the remaining ones should be shortened to 0.3 m. Injured stems should be removed, and excessively long ones should be shortened.

Landing features

When planting several seedlings, do not forget to leave between them from 2 to 3 meters (depending on the type and variety) of empty space. During the preparation of the pit for planting, it should be noted that it must have sheer walls. If the fertility of the soil is high or medium, then the size of the pit will be 0.5x0.5x0.5 meters. If the soil is poor or sandy, then the pit needs to be made 2 times larger, because during the planting of the seedling, it will be necessary to fill it with nutrient soil mixture, which includes: humus or compost (from 15 to 20 kilograms), wood ash (from 200 up to 300 grams) and superphosphate (from 20 to 30 grams). Wood ash should be taken 2 times more if the soil in the area is acidic.

At the bottom of the pit, you need to make a good drainage layer, for this you can use crushed stone, expanded clay or broken brick. Then a nutrient soil mixture is poured into the pit in such a way that a mound is obtained. Next, the plant is installed in the center of the pit directly on the mound. After its root system is straightened, the pit must be completely filled with soil mixture. In a planted lilac, the root neck should rise 30–40 mm above the surface of the site. Planted shrubs need to be well watered. When the liquid is completely absorbed into the soil, its surface will need to be covered with a layer of mulch (peat or humus), the thickness of which should be within 5–7 centimeters.

Lilac care in the garden

It is very easy to grow a lilac in your garden, especially since caring for it will not take much of the gardener's time. This shrub can grow without your participation, but it will be very good if from the beginning to the middle of the summer period you provide it with systematic watering as the soil dries up, while 2.5–3 buckets of water should be poured under 1 bush at a time. During the season, you will need to loosen the surface of the trunk circle 3 or 4 times to a depth of 4 to 7 centimeters. Also, do not forget to remove weeds in a timely manner. In August and September, such a plant should be watered only when there is a prolonged drought. After 5 or 6 years, the lilac will become a very spectacular thick bush.

The first 2 or 3 years, lilacs are fed with only a small amount of nitrogen. Starting from the second year, ammonium nitrate is added under each shrub in an amount of 65 to 80 grams or urea from 50 to 60 grams. But experienced gardeners recommend feeding lilacs with organic matter, for this you need to pour 10–30 liters of slurry under the bush (cow manure should be dissolved in water in a ratio of 5: 1). To begin with, make a not very deep groove around the shrub, stepping back from the trunks of at least 50 cm. You need to pour the nutrient mixture into it.

Once every 2 or 3 years, the plant is fed with phosphorus and potassium, for this, 35 to 40 grams of double superphosphate and 30 to 35 grams of potassium nitrate should be taken for 1 adult bush. The granules should be deepened into the near-stem circle by 6–8 centimeters, then the plant must be watered without fail. However, lilac responds best to fertilizing with complex fertilizer, consisting of 8 liters of water and 0.2 kilograms of wood ash.

Transfer

Gardeners with considerable experience strongly recommend that after 1 or 2 years from the date of planting the shrub, transplant it. The fact is that such a plant very quickly consumes all the nutrients available in the soil, even despite systematic feeding. In this regard, after 2 years, the soil will no longer be able to provide the lilac with the necessary energy for lush and incredible spectacular flowering, and rapid growth.

Three-year-old bushes are transplanted no earlier than August. It is necessary to transplant young plants immediately at the end of flowering at the end of the spring period, otherwise they will not be able to take root normally until the first frost. The pit for transplantation must be made in the same way as for planting. Then you should inspect the plant and cut out injured, dried or unnecessary stems and branches. The shrub is dug in along the projection of the perimeter of the crown and pulled out of the ground along with a clod of earth. Then it is placed on a dense fabric or oilcloth and moved to a new landing site. The size of the new pit should be such that it fits not only a bush with a clod of earth, but also a sufficiently large amount of fertile soil.

pruning

Before the bush is 2 years old, it does not need to be cut, since the skeletal branches are still in the formation stage at this time. In the third year of a lilac's life, the formation of its crown should begin, this process will take from 2 to 3 years. Pruning is done in the spring, before the sap flow begins and before the buds swell. To do this, choose from 5 to 7 beautiful branches equidistant from each other, and remove the remaining ones. Don't forget to cut out all the root shoots. Next year, about ½ of the flowering stems will need to be removed. The main principle of pruning is that there should be no more than eight healthy buds on one skeletal branch, while the excess part of the branch must be removed to avoid overloading the shrub during flowering. Simultaneously with the formation of the bush, sanitary pruning is also carried out. To do this, remove all injured, drying, frost-damaged or disease-damaged branches and shoots, as well as those that do not grow properly.

Lilacs, if desired, can be shaped into a tree. To do this, you need to choose a seedling with a powerful straight vertically located branch. It is necessary to shorten it to the height of the stem, and then from the shoots that will grow, it is necessary to form 5 or 6 skeletal branches, while do not forget to regularly free the stem and the trunk circle from the growth. After you finish the formation of the standard lilac, you will only need to thin out the crown every year.

Lilac care during flowering

When warm weather sets in in the spring, the lilac will begin to bloom, and its very delicate aroma will attract a huge number of carnivores. May beetles must be removed from the bush manually. During the active flowering period, approximately 60 percent of all flowering stems will need to be removed. This procedure is called pruning "for a bouquet", it is necessary so that young stems form more intensively, as well as to increase the number of flower buds that are laid for the next year. To prolong the life of a bouquet of lilacs, you need to cut it early in the morning, and do not forget to split the lower part of the cut branch. At the end of flowering, cut off all inflorescences that have begun to fade from the shrub.

Pests and diseases of lilacs with photo examples

Lilac has a fairly high resistance to diseases and pests. But in some cases, it can get sick with bacterial necrosis, bacterial rot, powdery mildew or verticillium. And hawk moths, mining moths, kidney or leaf mites and lilac moths can also settle on the bush.

Bacterial, or nectrium, necrosis

If in August the green foliage changed its color to gray-ashy, and at the same time the young shoots turned brown or brown, this means that the bush is infected with bacterial (nectrium) necrosis. For the purpose of prevention, it is recommended to systematically thin out the crown of the plant to improve ventilation, cut off diseased areas and get rid of pests in a timely manner. If the damage to the bush is significant, then it will need to be dug up and destroyed.

bacterial rot

Bacterial rot damages the foliage, flowers, stems and buds of the plant. In some cases, wet spots appear on the surface of the root, which grow very quickly. As the disease develops, the foliage loses turgor and dries up, but its fall does not occur immediately, drying and bending of the stems are also observed. In order to cure lilacs, it is necessary to carry out 3 or 4 sprays with copper chloride, while the interval between procedures should be 1.5 weeks.

powdery mildew

Powdery mildew is a fungal disease that can harm both young and old shrubs. A loose whitish-gray coating appears on the surface of the foliage, over time it becomes denser and turns brown. The progression of this disease is observed in the hot dry summer. It is necessary to begin treatment of the plant as soon as the first signs of the disease were noticed. The first step is to cut and destroy all disease-affected areas, then spray the bush with a fungicide. At the very beginning of the spring period, you should dig the soil with bleach (100 grams per 1 square meter), while trying not to injure the root system of the shrub.

verticillium wilt

If you notice that the lilac foliage curls up, brown or rusty spots appear on its surface, and they gradually dry out and die off, then this is a sign of another fungal disease - verticillium wilt. The bush begins to dry out from the top, while the disease spreads extremely quickly. The affected bush should be treated with a solution consisting of 1.5 buckets of water, 100 grams of soda ash and the same amount of laundry soap. Also good results are shown by spraying the bush with Abiga-Peak. Cut out all infected areas and destroy them along with the leaves that have flown around.

Lilac hawk moth

The lilac hawk moth is a large butterfly, on the front wings of which there is a marble pattern, it prefers a nocturnal lifestyle. In the caterpillar stage, this pest reaches 11 centimeters in length. You can distinguish it from other pests by a dense outgrowth similar to a horn, located in the back of the body. The hawk caterpillar settles not only on lilacs, but also on meadowsweet, currants, viburnum, ash and grapes. To get rid of such a pest, you will need to treat the bush with a solution of Phtalofos (1%).

Lilac moth

The lilac moth prefers to live on hedges and in light forests. In one season, such a pest is able to give 2 generations. Its small caterpillars eat up flowers, buds and buds completely, and only veins rolled up into a tube remain from the leaf plates. The affected shrub should be sprayed with Fozalon or Karbofos.

Lilac leaf mite

The lilac leaf mite is a very small insect that feeds on lilac plant sap by sucking it from the underside of the foliage. The leaves gradually dry up and change their color to brown. For prevention purposes, lilacs should be sprayed over the foliage with a solution of iron or copper sulfate, and also systematically thin the crown and fertilize the plant with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer. Do not forget to collect and destroy fallen leaves in autumn.

Lilac bud mite

The lilac bud mite spends its entire life in the buds of a plant. He sucks the juice out of them, and also survives in the kidneys and winter. As a result, the buds are deformed, the stems and foliage growing from them are underdeveloped and weak, there is no flowering, and the plant may die over time. For prevention purposes, at the very beginning of the spring period (after the frosts are left behind), it is necessary to remove all the fallen leaves and cut off the basal shoots, then dig the soil in the trunk circle to a full bayonet with the soil turned over, and then the shrub is treated with a solution of copper sulphate.

mining moth

A mining moth can harm lilac foliage. At first, a lot of brown dark spots (mines) appear on its surface, and after some time the plates roll up into a tube as if from fire. Affected plants do not bloom, and after 1 or 2 years they die. To get rid of such a moth, it is necessary to carry out abundant spraying on the foliage with a solution of Bactofit or Fitosporin-M, or Bordeaux liquid can be used. For preventive purposes, in the autumn, mandatory collection and destruction of plant residues is carried out, while before frosts and at the very beginning of the spring period, it is necessary to make a deep digging of the soil in the trunk circle.

Lilac reproduction

Such a plant is propagated by seeds only by specialists in nurseries. Gardeners, for the propagation of varietal lilacs, use such vegetative methods as layering, grafting and cuttings. If desired, you can purchase grafted seedlings or own-rooted ones, which were obtained from cuttings or layering. The advantages of own-rooted lilac over the grafted one are that it is less demanding, recovers relatively quickly after wintering, and can be easily propagated by vegetative methods. Own-rooted lilac has greater durability.

Reproduction of lilacs by grafting

For varietal lilac, the following rootstocks are used: Hungarian lilac, common lilac and common privet. You can bud a shrub in the summer with a dormant bud, and in the spring, an awakening bud is used for this. At the same time, it is recommended to vaccinate in the spring, since more than 80 percent of the cuttings take root at this time. In order to produce a spring vaccination, cuttings are harvested in February or March, then they are wrapped in a paper sheet and placed on a refrigerator shelf (temperature 0–4 degrees). For harvesting cuttings, mature annual shoots covered with brown bark are used.

Stock preparation should also be done in advance. To do this, cut the side stems to a height of 15 to 20 centimeters and cut out the entire basal growth. The root neck of the stock should not be thinner than a pencil, while the bark should be well separated from the wood, for this, the plant must be provided with systematic abundant watering 7 days before grafting. On the day of vaccination, to begin with, all the soil is removed from the root neck of the stock. Next, a clean, moistened cloth is taken, with which the vaccination site is wiped. Split the rootstock stump in the center to a depth of 30 mm using a budding knife. At the graft cutting, the lower end must be cleaned on both sides as well to a height of 30 mm, as a result, a wedge should be obtained. It is necessary to insert a scion wedge into the rootstock split in such a way that the area cleared of bark is completely immersed in the split. After that, the vaccination site must be wrapped with tape, while its sticky surface should look out. Next, the damage and the places from which the kidneys were cut are processed, for this, garden pitch is used. Then, a plastic bag should be put on the grafted stalk, and it should be fixed just below the grafting site, this will help create the effect of a greenhouse. The package should be removed only after swelling of the buds is noticed on the scion.

For this procedure, choose a dry sunny day. It is necessary to carry out the vaccination from 16 to 20 pm or from 5 to 10 am.

Propagation of lilacs by layering

In the spring, you need to find a young stem that has begun to lignify. It should be pulled with copper wire at the base and in one more place, stepping back from the first 0.8 m, while trying to keep the bark intact. Then the shoot is placed in a previously prepared groove, the depth of which is from 15 to 20 mm. It is fixed in this position with the help of pins, so that only the upper part remains on the surface. After some time, young stems will begin to grow from the layering upwards, after their height is 15–17 centimeters, these shoots must be spudded with nutrient soil, while they are covered with earth at least half the height. In the summer, provide layering with systematic watering and weeding, and add soil 1 or 2 more times during the season under the stems that have begun to grow. After it gets colder outside, you should cut off the layers in the places of constriction. It will need to be cut in such a way that each of the parts has an escape with roots. Such a delenka can be planted in a school garden for growing, and if desired, it is planted in open soil in a permanent place. Young bushes planted in open ground need shelter for the winter.

Reproduction of lilac cuttings

The cuttings of this shrub are quite difficult to root, and in order for this procedure to end successfully, 2 important rules must be considered:

1. Harvesting cuttings must begin as soon as the plant has faded or do it during flowering.
2. The cuttings are cut in the morning from young bushes. For this, non-lignified stems are suitable, located inside the crown, which have an average thickness, short internodes and from 2 to 3 nodes.

The cut at the top is made at a right angle, and at the bottom - obliquely. The leaf plates located in the lower part of the handle must be cut off, and in the upper part they must be shortened by ½. Next, an oblique cut of the cuttings is immersed in a solution of an agent that stimulates root growth. He must stay there for at least 16 hours.

In order for the cuttings to take root well, prepare a cutting box or a greenhouse. For rooting, it is recommended to use a substrate consisting of peat and sand (1: 1). If desired, the sand is partially replaced by perlite. The container must first be sterilized, then a layer of soil of twenty-centimeter thickness is poured into it, which must first be treated with Maxim or Fundazol. On top of this soil, a five-centimeter thick layer should be placed, consisting of calcined river sand. To begin with, the tips of the cuttings should be rinsed using clean water to remove the remnants of the root former. Then the cuttings are buried in a layer of sand and such a distance is kept between them so that the foliage of one plant does not touch the leaves of the neighboring one. Planted cuttings need to be moistened with a spray bottle, and then they are covered with a lid, always transparent. In the event that an ordinary box or container is used for cuttings, then take a 5-liter plastic bottle to cover the cuttings and cut off its neck. Turn this container over and cover the stalk with it. Cuttings for rooting are removed in partial shade. Please note that the sand in the container should not dry out. Systematically moisten the air under the coating with a spray bottle, since the percentage of air humidity there should be 100. To prevent fungal diseases, spray the cuttings with a weak solution of potassium permanganate once every 7 days.

Rooting cuttings can take from 40 to 60 days. Then they will need to be aired every day in the evening, after some time the shelter must be removed for good. When roots appear in the summer, the cuttings will need to be planted in a well-lit area, while the soil should be slightly acidic and light. For the winter, they need to be covered with spruce branches. In the event that the appearance of the roots occurred at the end of summer or autumn, then the plant is left for the winter at the place of rooting, it will be possible to plant them in a permanent place only in spring. Shrubs grown from cuttings begin to bloom in the 5th year.

Reproduction of lilac seeds

If you have a great desire to grow lilacs from seeds, then, of course, you can try. Seeds are collected in autumn in rainy weather. The collected boxes should be dried at room temperature for several days. The extracted seeds should be stratified. The seeds are combined with moistened sand (1: 3), the mixture is poured into a container or bag and put in the refrigerator on the shelf for vegetables. She will stay there for 8 weeks. It should be noted that the sand should always be slightly damp.

Sowing of seeds is carried out in the second decade of March and they are buried in the ground by 1.5 cm. Garden soil is used for sowing, which must be fried or steamed. The surface of the substrate must be moistened with a sprayer. The first seedlings may appear in 2-12 weeks. Half a month after the appearance of the seedlings, they must be planted, keeping a distance of 40 mm between the plants. After warm weather sets in, the seedlings can be transplanted into open ground.

Sowing seeds can be done before winter in slightly frozen soil. In this case, it is not necessary to preliminarily subject the seeds to stratification. In the spring, seedlings will appear, which must be dived and sent for growing.

Lilac after flowering

Adult lilac has high winter hardiness and does not need shelter for the winter. However, the trunk circle of young plants must be insulated with fallen leaves and peat, while the layer thickness should be 10 centimeters. It happens that in winter, varietal lilacs are damaged by frost, in connection with this, in the spring it will be necessary to prune the stems that have suffered in winter.

Types and varieties of lilacs with photos and names

There are about 30 types of lilac, most of which can be found in gardens and parks. Below is a description of the most popular types and varieties of such a shrub.

Amur lilac (Syringa amurensis)

This shade-loving hygrophyte is found in the broad-leaved forests of the Far East and northeast China. This species needs well-drained soil. It is represented by a multi-stemmed tree, which has a sprawling lush crown. The height of the plant is about 20 meters. This species is cultivated as a shrub, the height of which does not exceed 10 meters. The shape of the foliage of this plant is similar to the leaf plates of the common lilac. When the leaves are just blooming, they have a purple-green color, in the summer their front surface is dark green, and the wrong side is paler. In autumn, the color of the foliage changes to yellow-orange or purple. The length of strong panicle-shaped inflorescences is about 25 centimeters, they consist of small white or cream flowers with a honey smell. Such a plant is frost-resistant and does not need shelter for the winter. It is grown both solo and in group plantings, and this shrub is also suitable for creating a hedge. Cultivated since 1855

Hungarian lilac (Syringa josikaea)

The homeland of this species is Hungary, the Carpathians and the countries of the former Yugoslavia. The height of the shrub is about 7 meters. Branched dense stems directed upwards. Glossy dark green leaf plates of a wide elliptical shape reach a length of 12 centimeters and have a ciliated edge. The lower surface of the leaf blades is greenish-gray, sometimes there is pubescence on the central vein. Rare narrow panicle-shaped inflorescences are divided into tiers. They consist of small purple flowers with a slight odor. Such a plant is unpretentious, resistant to city conditions, it is widely used to create group and single plantings. Cultivated since 1830. Popular garden forms:

1. pale. The color of the flowers is light purple.
2. Red. Inflorescences are purple-red.

Meyer's lilac (Syringa meyeri)

A compact plant reaches a height of only 150 cm. The length of small leaf plates is from 20 to 40 mm, their shape is elliptical, tapering towards the top, and have a ciliated edge. The front surface of the foliage is bare dark green, while the underside is paler and has pubescence along the veins. The length of erect inflorescences is 3-10 centimeters, they consist of fragrant pale flowers of pink-lilac color. The species is frost-resistant.

Persian lilac (Syringa x persica)

This hybrid was obtained by crossing the finely cut lilac and Afghan lilac. The height of the shrub is about 3 meters. The length of dense thin leaves is about 7.5 centimeters, they are pointed, lanceolate in shape. Wide, loose panicle-shaped inflorescences consist of fragrant pale purple flowers, the diameter of which is 20 mm. Cultivated since 1640. Popular forms:

1. White lilac. Flower color is white.
2. Red lilac with red flowers.
3. Dissected leaf. This dwarf Persian lilac has spreading branches and small pinnately lobed openwork leaf blades.

Chinese lilac (Syringa x chinensis)

This hybrid was obtained by crossing Persian lilac and common lilac. This species was obtained in France in 1777. The height of the bush is about 5 meters. The length of the ovate-lanceolate pointed leaf plates is about 10 centimeters. The length of wide-pyramidal drooping panicle-shaped inflorescences is about 10 centimeters, they consist of very fragrant flowers, the diameter of which is 1.8 cm. In buds, the flowers are painted in a deep purple color, and when blooming they are purple-red. Popular Shapes:

1. Double. The color of double flowers is purple.
2. Pale purple.
3. Dark purple. This form is the most spectacular of all related to Chinese lilac.

Hyacinth lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora)

This hybrid is the result of the work of V. Lemoine. It was created using common lilac and broad-leaved lilac. Leaf plates have a sharp top and a broadly ovoid or heart-shaped shape. In autumn, their dark green color changes to purplish brown. The flowers are similar to the common lilac flowers, but the inflorescences are less dense and smaller. It has been cultivated since 1899. The terry form has the greatest effect, there are several more popular forms:

1. Esther Staley. The color of the buds is red-violet, and the fragrant flowers are rich red-purple. The flowers are about 20 mm in diameter, their petals are folded back. The length of the inflorescences is about 16 centimeters.
2. Churchill. The color of the buds is purple-red, and the blooming fragrant flowers are lilac-silver with a pinkish tint.
3. Puple Glory. Dense inflorescences consist of large (diameter 35 mm) simple purple flowers.

Common lilac has been cultivated since 1583, it has a large number of varieties created by both domestic and foreign breeders. For example:

1. Red Moscow. The color of the buds is purple-violet, and the fragrant flowers are dark purple. In diameter, they reach 20 mm and have yellow stamens.
2. Violet. It has been cultivated since 1916. The buds are dark purple, and the double and semi-double large (about 30 mm in diameter) flowers are pale purple. They have a slight odour.
3. Primrose. The buds are colored yellow-green, and the flowers are pale yellow.
4. Belicent. Shrub upright and tall. The length of fragrant openwork pink-coral inflorescences is about 0.3 m. The shape of large slightly corrugated leaf plates is oval.

In addition to these varieties, garden lilacs are popular with such as: Belle de Nancy, Monique Lemoine, Amethyst, Ami Schott, Vesuvius, Vestalka, Galina Ulanova, Jeanne d'Arc, Cavour, Soviet Arctic, Defenders of Brest, Captain Balte, Katerina Havemeyer, Congo, Leonid Leonov, Madame Charles Suchet, Madame Casimir Perrier, Dream, Miss Ellen Wilmott, Montaigne, Hope, Lights of Donbass, Memory of Kolesnikov, Sensation, Charles Joly, Celia, etc.

Gardeners also grow the following species: Peking lilac, drooping, Japanese, Preston, Yuliana, Komarov, Yunnan, fine-haired, hairy, Zvegintsev, Nansen, Henry, Wolf and velvety.

Garden lilac always pleases with its delicate aroma, so be sure to plant a bush on your site. It does not differ in capriciousness, grows quickly and actively blooms the very next year. Our article highlights the basic rules for planting and caring for this plant, and useful tips will help you easily grow a beautiful lilac on your site.

How and when to plant

The optimal time to purchase lilac seedlings is early autumn. It is then that the rhizomes will take root well in a new place, and the overwintered plant will actively bud in the spring.

The selected specimen should be with green leaves, because dried or yellowed prematurely, they indicate problems and diseases of the root system.

Summer planting of lilacs is possible if the seedling was purchased in a container. In this case, the first buds should not be expected until next year, but a plant that has taken root in a new place will willingly grow and develop.

What you need for boarding:

• Quite a large hole. On poor soils, it must be made approximately 90 × 90 centimeters, taking into account top dressing and peat introduced.
• Non-acidic and non-clay soil. If the acidity of the soil is below 5.5 Ph, it must be corrected. For this, wood ash, lime and eggshells are used.
• Well lit landing area. It is advisable to choose the southern and southeastern parts of the site.
• Slight elevation to keep moisture out. On swampy soils, lilacs can also be grown, but subject to good drainage.
• Adding fertile soil, humus and peat to the hole will accelerate the growth of the seedling. There is enough feeding for the first year, so a further portion is applied in the next season.
• After planting, the roots are well trampled down, and then watered abundantly. For one seedling it is necessary to use at least 10 - 15 liters of water. The volume will depend on the density of the soil, as well as the dug hole. It will also be interesting to learn about how cleoma is planted from seeds.

Lilac tolerates partial shade well, but sufficient illumination is an indispensable attribute of successful growth. The plant is also undemanding to the composition of the soil, it can grow well even on poor soil, but its acidity is of great importance. If the soil does not meet these requirements, additional liming is necessary, otherwise the plant will die. To illuminate the plant, you can use outdoor lighting at home.

On the video - how to plant and care for lilacs:

Lilac winter shelter is best organized from mulch. It is necessary to pour at least a bucket of crushed mixture on the roots, then cover it with boards or sticks. After that, watering is undesirable so that rot does not form on the roots.

How to care

There are a lot of varieties of lilac, literally every year new varieties grafted by breeders go on sale. At the same time, caring for this shrub is simple and it does not matter what kind of lilac we are talking about.

An important point: pruning the bush. If desired, a neat tree can be formed from any variety. To do this, pruning is performed in early spring and after flowering. Lilac tolerates this procedure well, it is believed that the cut branches for next year will give a more lush and bright bloom.

At the same time, there are some peculiarities. If lilac is preferred as a shrub, pruning of side shoots is carried out with a minimum amount to allow several stems of the plant to develop at once.

To form a stamp tree, approximately in the third year of growth, the lilac is cut at a height of 100 - 120 centimeters so that it looks neater. In this case, it is imperative to trim and trim the side shoots, preventing strong growth of branches.

You may also be interested in learning about what a hawthorn hedge looks like.

Basic growing rules:

1. Mandatory loosening of the soil. On too heavy and wet soils, lilac does not grow well, it can throw off leaves and wither. Loosening is carried out relatively shallow so as not to damage the roots.
2. moderate watering. The lilac root system is well developed, so lack of moisture will not be a significant threat. Active watering goes before the lilac begins to bloom, after which it is reduced to a weekly one. To do this, you can use the gardena automatic irrigation system.
3. Young bushes do not feed until the first inflorescences appear. Until that time, the fertilizer applied during planting will be enough for them.
4. A flowering plant is fed once a year so that the flowers are brighter and larger.
5. Watering and fertilizing the plants are not carried out after flowering, so as not to stimulate the growth of shoots before wintering. Usually the deadline is the beginning of August.
6. Carefully it is necessary to feed lilacs with nitrogen fertilizers. They stimulate the formation of shoots and leaves, but can completely stop flowering.
7. The inclusion of phosphorus in the "diet" as a top dressing will help the formation of beautiful and lush inflorescences. Consumption is considered from the norm of 40-60 grams per bush, depending on its size.
8. You can use wood ash, which alkalizes the soil. It is necessary to make at least two tablespoons for each bush, mixing it with water.
9. Lilac is propagated by cuttings that can be dug up from the parent bush. After the seedling takes root, the connection is broken, and the sprout can be dug up and transplanted. But how Chrysanthemum cuttings are planted, this article will help to understand.
10. In order for only large inflorescences to form on the branches, it is necessary to remove up to 25% of flower buds at the stage of their formation.
11. Lilac flowers are best cut in the morning or late evening. Be sure to use a pruner for this so as not to injure the branches.

It will also be interesting to learn more about how the forsythia shrub looks in the photo, as well as how it should be planted.

On the video - growing lilacs:

On the site, lilac can be used as a hedge. For this, low-growing varieties are planted that are easier to cut and shape. Seedlings must be planted at a distance of no more than one meter from each other along the perimeter of the future fence. Approximately in the second year of growth, the branches must be braided together and fastened with soft wire or twine.

For a decorative effect, the resulting hedge is sheared after flowering, and if this is not planned, in early spring.

Blooming lilac is an unusually beautiful decoration of your site. Delicate inflorescences give an indescribable aroma, and cheerful foliage will delight the eye until late autumn. The types of lilacs cannot be described, and the unpretentiousness of this shrub has long been a good "springboard" for beginners in gardening. The basic rules for the successful planting and cultivation of this plant are described in detail in the information of our article.

Lilac is one of the most beloved shrubs, the flowering of which is associated with the real onset of spring. The divine aromas spread during this period fascinate, fall in love with yourself. Due to the dense lush crown, the plant is often used to form green walls that cover a certain area from prying eyes.

Belonging to the olive family, lilac is one of the main inhabitants of gardens and home gardens. Outwardly, this luxurious shrub is characterized by large purple, pink or white flowers, collected in paniculate inflorescences, located at the ends of the branches. The fruit is a bivalve dry box. The leaves are green, most often whole, less often pinnatipartite; fall for the winter. Lilac, planting and care of which in the household is practically minimized, has a high endurance, grows well in the open air.

The most popular types of lilacs

By varieties, lilacs, planting and caring for which are quite easy, are divided into simple and terry. Common lilac, a native of the Balkan Peninsula, has become most widespread, on the territory of which it grows at high altitude and clings to steep rocky slopes with its roots. Blooms in May with purple and white flowers. Has many varieties.

Persian lilac. Characterized by fragrant purple flowers. Some of its varieties have pinnately cut leaves. The flowers are white.

Chinese lilac. It is a hybrid of the common and Persian. Characterized by large red-purple flowers.

Lilac Hungarian. The flowers are purple, with a barely perceptible aroma. Flowering occurs in late May - June.

Lilac: planting and care in the open field

The landing site should be well lit; with a lack of sun, plant growth will be slow, flowering may be absent. Strong sunshine can cause lilacs to develop small and fast-blooming inflorescences. Optimal for planting is a sunny, well-protected place from the winds.

Planting lilacs should be carried out in late summer - early autumn, preferably in the evening or in damp, cloudy weather. The depth of the planting pit, dug in advance for 2-3 weeks, is recommended from 0.5 to 1 meter with the same width. Be sure to add organic fertilizers, wood ash or humus to the soil when planting (up to 20 kg per planting pit).

Quality flowering will be observed with normal growth, which depends on how well the lilac is maintained. Planting and care (the photo shows all the beauty of your favorite plant), if carried out correctly, combined with love for the plant, will determine its continuous chic flowering and active growth.

Every autumn, the soil needs to be dug up to a depth of about 12 cm, carefully so as not to damage the roots of the plant. For the winter, the dug up soil should be left unleveled so that the weed seeds in it freeze out during the winter.

Lilac top dressing is done in early spring, as soon as the growth of shoots begins. A mineral complex is introduced under one bush, consisting of 20-30 grams of ammonium nitrate, 30 grams of superphosphate, 15-20 grams of potassium chloride; the depth of embedding in this case is 10-15 cm. It is recommended to fertilize with mineral fertilizers simultaneously with the introduction of mullein or slurry.

The second feeding is carried out during the formation of the kidneys with the same composition.

How to cut a lilac

Planting and care, pruning are important factors contributing to the quality growth of this crop. The purpose of pruning is to form a crown and maintain the shape of a bush, which causes abundant annual flowering.

In the first two years from the moment of planting, the growth of lilac is rather weak, therefore the nature of pruning is sanitary and thinning. In the third year, when the growth of the bush is activated, cardinal pruning is required. In early spring, it is necessary to choose about 10 strong shoots in the crown, giving the shrub a sprawling shape and as far as possible from each other. Subsequently, it is these branches that will become trunks; the rest of the shoots should be cut off. Small branches directed inward of the crown must be cut out completely, stronger ones directed outward should be shortened. If the lilac is cut in the fall, then next spring it will not bloom. Also, around the lilac bush, it is required to regularly remove basal shoots and rhizome offspring.

Lilac reproduction

Lilac propagation is carried out by root shoots, cuttings and grafting, used mainly for garden forms. For cuttings, it is required to take well leafy, semi-lignified shoots; in this case, leaf blades must be reduced by half. Make the lower cut oblique, under the internode, the upper cut above the leaf node. For rooting, the cuttings need to be planted in coarse sand, poured onto the nutrient soil of the greenhouse with a 3-5 cm layer. After planting and spraying the planted branches with water, the greenhouses must be covered with frames, providing the plants with diffused light and a temperature of + 25-30 degrees. As they take root, the cuttings are gradually accustomed to open air. The cuttings rooted in greenhouses are left for the winter, having previously covered them with foliage or spruce twigs. They can also be stored buried in the basement in winter. In the spring, land on the beds.

You need to cut it in the early morning, while removing most of the leaves from the branches, because they evaporate a lot of moisture. Cut lilacs from young bushes last longer than from old ones. The inflorescence should have at least 2/3 of the opened flowers, because the buds will not bloom in the cut. Before placing the bouquet in a vase, it is required to refresh the oblique cuts by making new ones under water. A tricky but effective trick: crush the ends of the shoots with a hammer. It is recommended to add 2-3 grams of acetic or citric acid to the water. A wilted bouquet can be refreshed by placing it in very hot water.

Plant diseases and pests

For those who want to acquire a chic, pleasantly smelling plant on their own site, it is worth knowing everything about this culture: what are behind such a plant as lilac, planting and care, its diseases, timing of pruning and watering regimen. Pests and diseases affect lilacs quite rarely. This is a lilac mining moth, the object of which is the leaves of the bush. After exposure to this insect, the lilac looks as if burned and practically does not bloom the next year. Such a pest should be fought by deep digging the soil under the bush in autumn and spring (in order to destroy the pupae that have settled in the soil), cutting and burning the affected shoots.

Also, lilac, planting and caring for which bring true lovers of beauty a lot of joy, is sometimes affected by bacterial necrosis; this happens at the beginning of August. The disease is transmitted by irrigation water, insects, planting material. The presence of this disease can be determined by the graying of the leaves and the browning of the shoots. In this case, the use of drugs aimed at pest control, removal and disposal of damaged parts of the plant, uprooting and burning of heavily affected bushes is required.

Lush clusters of blooming lilacs appear in May and delight with their beautiful flowering and delicate aroma for several weeks. Many gardeners grow shrubs to decorate their summer cottages with single plantings, decorative groups, or lilac hedges. This plant tolerates winter frosts well, is resistant to drought and does not cause any problems in care. You can grow it yourself even with minimal gardening experience.

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plant description

Lilac is a multi-stemmed deciduous shrub from the olive family, from 2 to 8 m in height. In its natural environment, the plant lives in the mountainous regions of Eurasia. The diameter of the trunks with dark gray bark can reach 20 cm. The leaves are light or dark green, have a different shape depending on the variety, bloom early and do not fall off until late autumn.

The flowers are small, collected in paniculate inflorescences, reaching a length of 20 cm, can be painted in all shades of white, pink or purple. The flower is a four-pronged bell-shaped calyx with two stamens and a long tubule. Depending on the variety, variety and climatic conditions, the flowering of the shrub begins from the last days of April to the beginning of June. At this time, the plant emits a delicate pleasant aroma. The fruits are double-winged capsules with several winged seeds.

Popular varieties of lilac:

Name	Description	A photo
Amur lilac	This popular lilac species is shade tolerant and grows in moist soil. The height of a multi-stemmed tree can reach 20 m. The leaves in their shape resemble the foliage of an ordinary lilac. Their color changes from green-purple when blooming to purple or orange-yellow in autumn. The flowers are white or cream, collected in long panicles. The species is resistant to frost, used in single, group plantings and for growing hedges.	Amur lilac
Lilac Kolesnikova	This group represents unique varieties bred by self-taught breeder Leonid Kolesnikov. After the death of the breeder, many of the varieties were lost forever through negligence and now you can find about 50 varieties of lilacs he bred. Some of them are presented in a single copy. Kolesnikov's lilac is distinguished by unique colors and flower shapes, many of them, due to the variability of shade, cannot be assigned to any varietal group	Lilac Kolesnikova Beauty of Moscow
Lilac Hungarian	This type of lilac grows in the Carpathians, is a shrub up to 7 m in height. The leaves are wide oval in shape, up to 12 cm long, dark green in color. Small purple flowers are collected in narrow panicles. In gardens, a pale form with pale purple flowers and a red one with reddish-purple flowers are grown.	Lilac Hungarian
Mayer's lilac	This species is compact in size and has a height of up to one and a half meters. The leaves are small oval, up to 4 cm long, dark green in color. Flowers of a light lilac-pink hue form erect inflorescences up to 10 cm long.	Mayer's lilac
Persian lilac	This hybrid variety is a shrub up to 3 m high with thin, dense, lanceolate leaves. The flowers reach 2 cm in diameter, have a light purple or blue tint. Grow white Persian lilac, red and dissected. The last form is a dwarf plant with small openwork leaves.	Persian lilac
Chinese lilac	A hybrid variety between the common lilac and the Persian, bred by French breeders in 1777. The height of the bushes can reach 5 m. The leaves are pointed, lanceolate, dark green in color, up to 10 cm long. Flowers of a bright purple hue reach a diameter of 18 mm, collected in wide drooping inflorescences up to 10 cm long. The most common forms: double with double flowers, pale purple and dark purple	Chinese lilac
Lilac hyacinth	This hybrid variety was bred by Victor Lemoine by crossing the common lilac and the broad-leaved lilac. The leaves are heart-shaped with a pointed end, dark green, turning purple in autumn. Flowers - like ordinary lilacs, collected in loose inflorescences. Most popular varieties: Churchill, Esther Staley, Puple Glory	Lilac hyacinth Esther Staley



Lilac planting

Properly planted shrubs make it much easier to care for them in the future. For lilacs, it is important to choose the right site. The plant prefers a well-lit place protected from gusts of wind. In the shade, it develops poorly and may not bloom.

It is required to pay attention to the condition of the soil. In flooded areas, which are often found in the Leningrad region or in the Moscow region, the culture is not able to grow. Wetlands or places with closely spaced groundwater are unsuitable for its cultivation. The shrub loves light fertile soil, moderately moist and rich in humus.

Under natural conditions, lilac grows in the mountains, so it blooms in spring when there is a lot of rainfall. In the summer, the plant begins a dormant period, and in the fall it can bloom again. It is best to plant it at a time when the lilac is in hibernation, that is, from mid-summer to early September. A crop planted in spring or autumn will develop poorly.

When buying seedlings, it is preferable to choose specimens with a closed root system and good branching. If the roots of the seedling are open, then before planting they are carefully examined, the sick and broken ones are cut off, and the healthy ones are cut to a length of 30 cm. It is also recommended to shorten the shoots that are too long, and remove the damaged ones completely.

Before planting lilacs in fertile soil, pits are made with sheer walls 50 cm wide and the same depth. If the soil is poor, then the size should be doubled in order to fill the remaining space with nutrient soil when planting, consisting of:

• 20 kg of compost;
• 30 g of superphosphate;
• 300 g wood ash.

With acidic soil on the site, it is recommended to double the amount of ash. The distance between the pits should be from 2 to 3 m, depending on the variety of lilac. When planting a hedge, it can be reduced to one and a half meters.

Step-by-step instructions for planting lilacs:

1. 1. Be sure to lay a drainage layer of broken brick, expanded clay or crushed stone at the bottom of the prepared pit.
2. 2. Pour fertile soil on top in the form of a hill.
3. 3. Place a seedling on the mound, spreading the roots.
4. 4. Fill the remaining space with fertile soil. When planting seedlings, leave the root collar 3–4 cm above the ground level.
5. 5. Water the seedling abundantly and mulch the near-trunk circle.



garden care

Lilacs need to be cared for only in the first few years after planting, mature plants provide their own nutrients, and they will only need regular pruning.

In summer, during a long absence of rain, the culture should be watered abundantly. Adult bushes produce moisture on their own.



pruning

Pruning for sanitary purposes can be done at any time of the year. During the flowering period, you should get rid of faded inflorescences in time by cutting them off. Lilacs thicken as they grow, so you need to regularly cut one or two old branches to form a sprawling bush. It is also necessary to remove excess young growth, cutting it to the level of the soil.

Pruning should not be carried out in autumn, as an unhealed cut can lead to freezing of a branch in winter.



Lilac pruning scheme

With a weak growth and poor branching, a short stimulating pruning is carried out. The following year, formative pruning is carried out. A year later, the shoots growing inside the bush are cut off, and last year's ones are shortened by 1/3.

In the third year, pruning is carried out in the same way. After the formation of a dense crown without voids, annual shoots are not cut off so that flower buds form on them. Subsequently, they only maintain its shape by cutting off unnecessary shoots.

top dressing

In the first three years after planting, the plant needs a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer. In the second year, 65 g of ammonium nitrate and 50 g of urea are added under each bush.

Organics can be used instead of chemicals. Lilacs respond well to feeding with slurry: 1 to 3 buckets are required for each bush. To obtain it, cow dung is diluted with water in a ratio of 1: 3. A furrow is dug 50 cm from the trunk and the resulting solution is poured there.

Every 2–3 years, potash and phosphate fertilizers are applied: 35 g of double superphosphate and 30 g of potassium nitrate per plant. The granules are buried to a depth of 6–8 cm and the shrub is abundantly watered. Instead, you can use an ash solution prepared from 8 liters of water and 200 g of ash.

Disease protection

In August, bacterial necrosis may appear on leaves and shoots. When infected, the leaves take on an ash-gray tint, and the shoots turn brown. To get rid of the disease, it is necessary to increase the ventilation of the crown, for which it must be thinned out by removing the affected branches. With a strong defeat, the bush cannot be saved, and it is uprooted.

Bacterial rot appears on all parts of the plant. It manifests itself in the form of wet, rapidly increasing in size spots. As a result, the leaves become lethargic and dry, the shoots also dry and deform. For treatment, the bush must be treated with a solution of copper oxychloride 3-4 times with an interval of 10 days.

When powdery mildew is affected, the lilac becomes covered with a whitish coating, which, as the disease develops, becomes denser and turns brown. At the first signs of infection, the damaged parts must be cut out and burned. The soil around the bush must be dug up, and the plant itself is treated with fungicidal preparations. As a preventive measure in early spring, the soil is dug up and bleach is added for each m² of 100 g.

Verticillium wilt appears on lilacs as rusty or brown spots on the leaves, from which they curl up and fall off. The disease begins at the top of the plant and quickly spreads through the bush. Damaged areas are cut out and burned. Do the same with fallen leaves. A solution is prepared for treatment: 100 g of soda ash and the same amount of laundry soap are diluted in 15 liters of water. The product is used for spraying.

Pest control

Of the pests of the culture, the lilac hawk moth can annoy. This is a large butterfly that is active at night. Lilac affects large, up to 11 cm in length, caterpillars. In the back of the body they have a dense outgrowth in the form of a horn. To destroy the insect, a 1% solution of Phtalofos is used.

On a lilac hedge, you can see small caterpillars of the lilac moth. These voracious creatures completely destroy the buds, flowers and leaves of the plant, leaving behind only coiled veins. To combat the pest, Karbofos and Fozalon are used according to the instructions.

Lilac leaf mite feeds on juice from lilac foliage. As a result of their exposure, the leaves turn brown and dry out. To combat the pest, the bushes are sprayed with a solution of copper or iron sulfate. As preventive measures, it is recommended to thin out the crown in time, burn fallen leaves in the fall and feed the crop with potassium-phosphorus fertilizers.

The kidneys can be damaged by the lilac bud mite. He spends the winter in them and feeds on their juices. This leads to deformation of the kidneys and the growth of weak, underdeveloped shoots and leaves. To avoid the death of a bush, in early spring, foliage is removed from under it and burned, young shoots are removed. The soil in the trunk circle is dug up to the length of the bayonet and the soil must be turned over. The plant itself is sprayed with a solution of copper sulfate.

The foliage of a lilac bush can be affected by a mining moth. In this case, dark spots first appear on the leaves, and then they roll up into a tube, as if from exposure to fire. The plant stops flowering and dies within one or two years. To destroy the insect, the culture is abundantly sprayed with Bordeaux liquid or Bactofit solution. To prevent infection in the fall, the remains of the plant and fallen leaves are removed and burned. In late autumn and early spring, for the same purpose, they deeply dig the soil in the trunk circle.

Lilac reproduction

Lilacs can be propagated and young bushes can be obtained in several ways. Seed is used very rarely. In the country, the culture is usually propagated by cuttings or root shoots. Rarely vaccinated.

On sale, seedlings are both rooted and grafted. The latter are more capricious and require careful handling. Own-rooted lilac recovers more easily after frosty winters, propagates well vegetatively.

seeds

To obtain seed material, the boxes are harvested in the fall in wet weather. So they will not open, and the seeds will not wake up. For several days, the boxes are dried at home, then they open and take out the seeds.



Lilac seed pods

Before planting, the seeds are stratified: mixed with moistened sand and laid out in containers with drainage holes, then sent to the refrigerator for 2 months. In March, they are sown in a box with disinfected soil. Shoots appear after 10 days, but depending on the variety, this period can increase up to 3 months. After the appearance of the second pair of leaves, the seedlings dive into separate pots. They can be planted outdoors in May.

cuttings

Lignified shoots are not suitable for grafting; only young green branches are used for this purpose. The cuttings are cut at the beginning of the flowering period, each of them should have 1 internode and 2 buds. The lower cut is made at a distance of 1 cm from the kidney, the leaves are plucked. In order for the seedling to take root better, it should be treated with a growth stimulator.

Prepared cuttings are planted to a depth of 1 cm.



Reproduction of lilac cuttings

Cuttings can be rooted at home. To do this, use containers with lids filled with nutrient soil with coarse sand in half. When rooting, the temperature is maintained from +25 to +28 ° С. Care for them consists in daily spraying with water. Roots will appear in 30 days, and in the fall they should be planted in a site protected from the wind.

Root growth

You can separate the root shoots from the beginning of June until the young shoots darken. The procedure is carried out on a cloudy day to prevent the weak roots from drying out. It is recommended to moisten the soil around the mother plant beforehand. Boxes with wet sand are prepared in advance and separated shoots are transferred to them, on which there are small roots 3 to 5 cm long. After that, they are transplanted into a cold greenhouse, observing an interval of 5 cm.

In the first week, the greenhouse is kept under a film and the shelter is removed twice a day for spraying and airing. After that, the plants open completely. Irrigate them as needed. After 2 months, the young bushes will get stronger and they can be planted in a permanent place. Care consists in timely watering and regular thinning.

Inoculation

Most often, the method of copulation is used for vaccination. With this method, the scion and rootstock shoots should have the same thickness, and their tissues should match as much as possible. Copulation can be done at the root neck in a trunk or in a crown. If all actions are performed correctly, then the place of the scion grows together after 2.5 months.

The procedure should be carried out before the start of sap flow. With a simple copulation on the scion and stock, oblique cuts are made at an angle of 45 degrees, they are applied to each other and tightly tied with twine.

In some cases, English copulation is performed by making additional cuts to the longitudinal axis at an angle of 45 degrees.



Copulation. A - simple, B - English

Grafted plants need careful care. They need to be watered in time, as well as to loosen the trunk circle, followed by mulching the soil. Bushes need to be tied to a support.

layering

When propagating by layering, a furrow is dug next to the mother plant, after which the lower branches of the shrub are bent to it. They are attached to the ground with special wooden staples and covered with soil so that part of the shoot with several buds remains on the surface. By autumn, the branch will take root, and it will be possible to separate it from the mother plant.



Reproduction by layering

Care for layering consists in timely watering. This is the easiest way, it allows you to get several fully developed young bushes in one season. But this option is not suitable for all varieties of lilacs.

Lilac refers to unpretentious plants that look great not only during flowering. In the autumn period, the foliage remains on the ornamental shrub for a long time, attracting the views of the household. Planting a lilac is a simple matter. It takes root quite well and does not require special care after planting.

You can plant a shrub at almost any time of the year. The only thing worth paying attention to is the type of root system. If the lilac seedling is in a container, i.e. the root system is closed, you can plant shrubs even in summer. If this flowering shrub was purchased with an open root, then the planting process is carried out in autumn or spring. However, not all so simple. When planting in autumn, the bush should be at rest and not bloom or actively grow foliage. In addition, if the shrub has already begun to shed its leaves, it is better to wait until spring with the moment of planting or transplanting. Otherwise, the plant will not have time to fully take root before the winter frosts.

Planting in open ground in the spring is carried out before the start of sap flow. As soon as the ground freezes and the risk of frost returning is minimal, you can plant.

If you have a choice in terms of planting, give preference to the autumn period. The advantages of autumn planting include the fact that in spring the shrub, in addition to rooting and developing the root system, spends quite a lot of energy on flowering and growing foliage.

Video "Autumn planting lilacs, what are the benefits"

Landing place

Although lilac is unpretentious, when choosing a place for this shrub on your site, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

• the soil should be moist and temperate;
• groundwater is not higher than 1.5-2 meters from the surface;
• must be neutral;
• the presence of sunlight for most of the day;
• protection from strong winds.

Lilacs are best planted on a slight slope or flat terrain with good drainage.

Landing Rules

Being a fairly unpretentious ornamental shrub, planting lilacs is not difficult.

1. In the case of a shrub in a landscape composition, the distance from the previous plant must be at least 2 meters.
2. The size of the planting holes depends on the size of the root system. It is advisable to dig them several times more than the container of the plant. The pits must be filled with a nutrient mixture, which consists of compost, superphosphate and wood ash.
3. Before planting, the branches are shortened a little, and the damaged roots are completely removed. If planting is carried out in the spring, for more efficient and speedy engraftment, the root system should be soaked in a biostimulant solution, for example, Kornevin.
4. The shrub is placed in the center of the planting hole and the roots are straightened.
5. The plant is covered with a mixture of nutrient soil, then compacted in layers.
6. The already planted lilac bush is watered abundantly with water, and the soil around the root collar is mulched.

Care after landing

Formation of a lilac bush in the shape of a tree

As mentioned earlier, lilac can be grown without knowledge and skills in the field of gardening, as this plant is absolutely unpretentious. However, subject to these recommendations, the ornamental shrub will be flowering and lush for quite a long period of time.

Lilac top dressing

If enough superphosphate, ash and compost were added to the planting pit when planting lilacs in the fall, fertilizers should be started from the 2nd season if these are nitrogen microelements and from 4 if it is organic.

Phosphorus and potassium nutrients are introduced in the autumn months no more than 1 time in 2-3 years.

This plant responds very well to wood ash, which can easily replace top dressing with various fertilizers. It is better to apply it in liquid form, having previously mixed 200-300 g in a bucket of water.

Watering and loosening

During flowering and active growth, lilacs should be watered quite often. As soon as the soil dries, you can safely moisten the soil.

The optimal depth of loosening the soil under the lilac is 5-8 cm, and the frequency of the procedure is 3-4 times per season.

pruning

How to prune lilacs in autumn

Lilac can be grown as a shrub or as a tree. To give the bush a magnificent shape, for 3-4 years after planting the lilac, 8-10 of the most even and beautiful branches are left, and everything else is cut off. The main shoot is also shortened.

If you want to make a tree out of lilacs, leave only the strongest branch. All the kidneys located below 60-70 cm are cut off from it and 7-8 upper pairs are left. Then one of the paired branches is plucked and no more than 7 branches remain.

Sanitary and thinning pruning is best done in early spring, but can be done throughout the season if needed. In order to obtain voluminous clusters, flower buds should also be partially cut off.

Lilac is one of the few ornamental plants that does not require special care and looks gorgeous. This shrub takes root not only in the Moscow region, but also throughout the middle zone of the country.