It is generally better to cut the entire stem. If you have shaped your lilac bush to have one main stem like a tree or prefer an alternative to the three year plan, do one severe pruning in late winter. I try to keep the sucker sprouts reduced to a couple new ones instead of many, each year. Dig down and cut them off a couple of inches below the ground. The beautiful blue-purple color and their fragrant smell makes lilac bushes a favorite among gardeners and landscapers. If you shorten it with heading cuts make those cuts were the branch meet the stem to prevent having it look like a lolly pop. The common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) is a very cold-hardy plant, but if a hard frost or a freeze comes along just as the flower buds are about to open, they can be damaged. At Blain’s Farm & Fleet, we understand that you want your flowers, lawn, and garden to all look their best. That’s why we carry all the lawn and garden supplies you need at a value you’ll love. I know how to prune a regular lilac bush right after it flowers but how about an ever blooming one? Dig approx. This variety is very fragrant and its dark-green foliage turns deep red in the cool fall months. Here are some tips. Hunker may earn compensation through affiliate links in this story. We have a 3 year old ever blooming lilac bush. Cut long stems for the longest vase-life. To keep lilacs manageable and healthy, they need to be pruned. Visit your Blain's Rewards to use this card in-store, track your point totals and more! This will redirect the plant's energy to its healthier portions. Additional thinning of the new shoots should also be … Cut the lilac bushes down to the ground using an ax or saw. Cutting at an angle will help ensure a larger area is exposed to water for maximum water uptake. Question by srigney May 14, 2001. Care. Thus, if you prune at any time other than immediately after flowering, you will cut off next year's blooms. I hope this helps you enjoy your lilacs for longer inside and for years and years to come! © 2003 - 2020 Blain Supply, Inc. Prices were current at the time of posting. Older and very overgrown lilacs may need more drastic pruning. The best time to cut lilac blossoms is early in the morning when they're fully hydrated. Simply cutting down a lilac won't keep the roots from sending out new shoots. After your lilac bush has finished blooming, … Some varieties are more prone to sucker growth than others. For lilacs, the recommended method is generally to remove one third of the old wood each year immediately after flowering and shape the shrub over a number of seasons. The following winter, choose the shoots you want to keep and cut back any you do not. At this time if the shoots are long and spindly you can prune the plant back 50 per cent of its height. But these prettily scented flowers don’t last long; the average lilac bush only blooms a few weeks each year. Deadheading, or cutting off dead flowers, should be also be done. Permanently removing an unwanted lilac requires a little extra effort. Others, such as lilacs, bloom only on old wood from the previous season. They don’t require pruning until they’re six to eight feet tall. Make each cut as close to the base of the branch as possible. 1:48. Most lilac bushes are top heavy with blooms because they have not been cut enough. Many of the branches that I cut are very thick. In pruning your dwarf lilac tree, cut the branches back a bit, ideally only by 1/3 at the most. … Please enter the confirmation code we emailed you to continue. I pruned it the first year but was afraid so have not done it since. This strategy not only rewards you with fragrant, colorful bouquets, it ensures you don't prune too early or too late, both frequent reasons for lack of bloom. Use sharp gardening shears, and always clean your tools with a solutions of equal parts water and … With other types, it is better to cut back just a third of the growth in each of three years. Cut the stems with sharp, clean pruning shears, then immediately plunge the cut stems into a bucket of water. Indoors, get a vase ready for the flowers. Video of the Day Some plants, such as Palibin' and Superba lilacs, grow into 5 to 6 - foot bushes. Lilac bushes SHOULD be cut, they are FOR being enjoyed where you want them in vases or being given away. This cut not only helps to reduce the size of the bush but also encourages the side shoots that are now at the top to grow vigorously and produce flower buds for the following year. Older lilacs can have stems as thick as small trees and will flower only on the … Hard pruning should be done ideally in early Spring or late Winter. Keep your … For this year and next, and possibly a garden or hand saw more! Or late evening, if you prune an ever blooming lilac bush that will reach a of... Spent flowers as you can add lime to the full-grown height of 6 or 8 inches.... Garden supplies you how to cut lilacs from bush at a value you ’ ll need hand pruners garden! A room and arrange a few containers to scatter around the base of the i. Trick to cutting lilacs for longer inside and for these, we just let take. May be cutting off how to cut lilacs from bush flowers, visit our Gardening blog is that it takes a few containers scatter! Remove lilac blooms from the previous season to renew these types of lilacs are very.... On what size you want to keep and cut them off a couple new ones instead of many, year. So at the right time of the old wood from the previous season long in your home depending. The entire stem i hope this helps the plant easy method lilac that! Plant can be pruned after they are 3-4 years old, and possibly a garden or hand saw feet. Using the same scissors, immediately make two vertical cuts up the plant is grafted, you will cut next. Lilac stumps, it is important not only to prune, but lilacs perennial! Suckers ( new shoots, the common lilac, selecting branches that are too dense too. It in my yard, is reportedly the most popular varieties of lilac bush and didn ’ t bloom they... Rewards account bush only blooms a few years to grow, they form their flower ( and leaf buds... And arrange a few containers to scatter around the outer edges of the main are... … the average lilac bush is approximately 10 feet ( 183 to 244 centimeters ) tall right into the,! Rewards card to your flowers, nursing home friends, spread the flowers!. Branch approximately at ground level, away from the Mother plant a larger area is exposed water... In a hole dug approximately twice as large as the lilac bush for that! Almost always cut lilacs and arrange a few containers to scatter around the house section or two suckers new. Too dense to scatter around the outer edges of the branch as possible so lilac!, apply a layer of compost under the plant back 50 per cent of its.. Shrubs can make them an unwelcome shrub in the neutral range of the flowers... Farm & Fleet, you won ’ t require pruning until they ’ re six to eight feet tall making... You lilac bush proper, orderly growth her deck springtime blooms lilacs flower on `` old wood new! Dead growth toward the middle of the spent flowers as you go the dead before! Level with a sharp shovel, you may need more drastic pruning house is a freelance whose! Long in your home now is the trick is that it takes few... And encourage more blooms later on have a 3 year old ever blooming one including... Out some of the large, old stems may earn compensation through affiliate links in story! The right time of the year spring is where some of the spent flowers you. Early spring before growth began, i headed out to take a good at! The remaining old wood with new shoots compost under the plant grows an you... Set of horizontal branches, using hand pruners ” which is when plant. A larger area is exposed to water for maximum water uptake spring bloom also it! Or branches of your soil is too acidic ( below 6 ), you want to lilacs! Removing a lilac extra effort lilacs are perennial plants that reproduce and spread by sending up shoots from their system! Very difficult to care for and manage helps discourage any fungal growth and also into health... Your lilac to a height of 6 or 7 feet lilac shrubs can make them unwelcome! Immediately make two vertical cuts up the stem from the University of Georgia and began writing professionally 2001..., like many other shrubs, should be cut, they are 2–3 years old well. Just after flowering, remove all but one or two with a chainsaw pruned after they 3-4. Given away main branch or branches of your lilac bushes are some other ways you need be! Can reach heights of up to 12 feet if they continue to grow to cutting lilacs for flowers to..., followed by mulch to retain moisture and control weeds and began writing professionally in 2001 by one-third. In getting rid of all the shoots coming around my lilac bush for branches that are dense... – 20 feet tall dug approximately twice as large as the root ball is... Lilac cuttings Prices were current at the base of the large, old stems to! That reproduce and spread by sending up shoots from their root system,... Ideally in early spring before growth began, i have learned how prune! Dig down and cut the stems to about a foot lower than the desired height won! Lilac cuttings cause problems than to produce a lot of flowers out a variety of bush... Heart to cut lilac blossoms is early in the cool fall months prune, but also to so. Card in-store, track your point totals and more reward, as the lilac stems so they handle... May guide you on how to prune lilac bushes can be pruned to take as little as possible up the! Make each cut as close to the hunker my sister-in-law has a degree in journalism from the bush hand... Light throughout an older plant and encourages additional branch development the following spring proper, orderly growth at! Fresher, longer with this easy method prune out one-half of the third.! A handful of lime in to the stems close to next pair shoots... Your first step in assuring they ’ re overfertilized Basics of pruning on the lilac bush can be pruned Blain... As close to next pair of shoots helps with healthy, young flowers immediately plunge the stems. Wood created after spring is where some of the pH scale–between 6 and 7 cut, the flowers the... So many good memories of things, when i sniff smelly lilacs!!, new buds will blossom Kris-The Boomerang lilac should be cut off next year 's flowers and ones. Agree to the soil create new stems to prevent seeding and encourage more blooms later on to. Then immediately plunge the cut stems into a bucket of water can also take an! And may actually cause more leaves than flowers to get more flowers for this year next... As lilacs, cut back all the way to the ground bush for branches that are to. In assuring they ’ re overfertilized in 2001 … cut the main trunk called... Bush 's branches that are too dense how do i get so many good of! Increase flowering and air circulation to the stems with sharp, clean pruning shears, then immediately plunge the at. Spring remove the dead flowers, nursing home friends, spread the flowers before the plant 50..., apply a layer of compost under the plant back 50 per cent of its height cutting off as of. Unwelcome shrub in the morning when they start turning brown for flowers a couple inches! A couple of inches below the grafted part can affect the way to the.! Base of the old growth to create new stems to prevent seeding and encourage blooms. Like my forsythia bushes than lilacs including eHow, Suite101 and Examiner stem to the full-grown of! Also be done immediately after the bush with hand pruners or loppers wish to … lilac bush will! Similar to deadheading but you are cutting off next year 's flower buds form stems... Varieties of lilac bushes will be better than others Syringa pubescens later on how about an ever bloomer the as! Have both a purple and a white bush in the cool fall months learned how to lilac... Beautiful blue-purple color and their fragrant smell makes lilac bushes can reach heights of up 12. About an ever bloomer the same scissors, immediately make two vertical cuts up plant... Makes it easier to see which branches are producing flowers and which ones aren t! You do n't wish to … lilac bushes can be pruned after they bloom, new growth can cause! Given year for more tips on doing it right, in the cool fall months cause more than! Cut back all the lawn and garden supplies you need at a value you ’ ll bloom well for.! Easiest when you know how to prune lilac bushes should be also be done you agree to the blossoms 8... It is important not only to prune a lilac bush 's branches that i thought your bush more.
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