TRIMMING: Cutting back a Lilac
Tips, Tricks
Tips on how to rejuvenate an old Lilac with heavy pruning. See the follow-up video of this rejuvenated Lilac at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKRxuu8tSu4
Comments
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thank you so much for your excellent advice ! we have blooms on our lilac for the first time in about 15 years ! best wishes from the U.K.
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Finally a lilac which actually looks like a tree.
My surname actually denotes a common lilac in Finnish, and I like the "tree" from early age. So I just hate when they cut Syringa Vulgaris to a short bush with a couple of flowers. If I ever had the change, I'd just let it grow for aeons and aeons, and flower when it pretty much itself had to.
Which is how I first saw the bush. When it flowered, it dropped to 1.2-1.8m from ground, me being about a metre tall little guy then. And my god did I like it, both visually and olfactorily... They didn't name me Syreeni for no reason. 8) -
Thanks for your reply. That makes sense.
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Yes it is always best to completely remove a dead branch if possible, but the clustered branches at the base of Lilacs can make that very difficult. Regarding timing, yes, with less severe trimming projects it makes sense to trim right after the bloom, but for severe cutbacks I always prefer early spring to maximize the time allowed for regrowth.
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Thank you for the video... I have 2 questions: Isn't immediately following bloom the ideal time to prune lilacs?(or,is that true but doesn't apply to rejuvenative pruning?)... And:Don't we want to cut the dead shoots to the ground? . . . Thank you.
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Shrubs store energy in wood, so I like to leave branches on over the winter and cut Lilacs early in the spring. Cutting them in spring also gives you new growth without the long wait. Some of the older stems can be left 12 to 18 inches long, since some new sprouts will also grow out of the sides of them. Dead branches would not count toward the 1/3 formula in a more gradual renovation technique when you remove 1/3 of the oldest stems over a 3 year renovation.
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Thank you so much for this video. Our lilac is rather large and touching the house, and it's shape is unattractive. Though it blooms and smells great, it could look better and your video has given me hope that something can be done about it. When pruning, should all the cuts be made at the ground, or can cuts be in the middle of a branch? Also, do dead branches count toward the 1/3? Lastly, I heard pruning could be done in spring or fall. Is the rule for lilacs to prune only in spring? Thanks!
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Heavy cutting back of shrubs should be done early in the growing season to allow ample time for regrowth.
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When do you suggest trimming her down? Also Have you tried taking cuttings and propagation?
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thank you for this ! my husband has just pruned ours back to very little in the hopes that in 2/3 years time it will recover and flower again !
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we havent trimmed our lilac in 10 yrs i just now am doing it over 300 dead branches i took out already and have more to do leavin center out really dead wont kill it right trying to get it to blossom this coming spring of 2013 do i still have time for it to blossom or will it hurt it doing it in late June i will upload a video on it but i dont see any new lilacs on it very few
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Reply to cdnsv: Yes, this lilac has come back very well, as they always seem to do. However, the next job becomes thinning out all the sprouts that emerge, and cutting them to varying heights to begin to shape of the new lilac. If your soil tends to be acidic (below pH 6.0) lilacs benefit from a light application of (nonburning) agricultural lime.
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Do you have an update on this particular lilac? I need to do something similar on my property and I'm wondering how yours turned out after the significant trimming.
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Thank you - I have 2 lilacs in my garden -looking exactly the same. Now I know how to cut them
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Thanks for posting this. Your lilac looks *much* more like the ancient lilac in my own yard, than I've seen in any other lilac videos watched today. It was very helpful. (Now, to find the saw...)
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