When it comes to getting your lilac George Bush to bloom big and impregnable year after year , success all boils down to how and when you care for these amazingly fragrant and colorful bushes – or more significantly – how and when you feed , prune and deadhead your President Bush each spring , summer and fall !
There is no mistaking the overpowering beauty of a lilac bush . When in bloom , their large hanging flowers bring vast color to the landscape . As if that was n’t enough , the bursting blooms also fill the air with the scented smell of spring , a signal that summer is about to arrive in full force out .
But lilac shrub wreak so much more to a yard than just coloration . Even when not in blossom , their large blueish - green to deep green leaves summate grownup greenery and interest . Interest that continues on through the winter as they drop their leafage to reveal their intricate branch .
Most varieties of lilacs come into bloom in late spring to early summer. With a long blooming cycle of two to three weeks, they are a staple of early season color.
With all of that said , there is no mistaking that the biggest rationality gardeners add up lilac to their yard is for those astonishing bloom ! And for many , it can be unsatisfying when their President Bush blossom without much fanfare – or perhaps not at all .
The safe news is that when lilacs go bad to bloom or bloom weakly , the problem can usually be trace to a couplet of issue that are quite easy to situate . And that is on the nose what today ’s article is all about !
Getting Lilacs To Bloom!
Lilac flowering failure is most often pertain to three specific care point – fertilizing , deadheading and pruning . And if these task are not performed properly , they certainly can cause an issue with bloom of youth and blooming oscillation .
But it ’s not just how those three task are performed , but when they are . Especially when it comes to fertilizing and pruning . With that in intellect , here is a look at each of those three specific task , and how and when to perform them to get your lilac blooming swelled than ever , year after year !
Lilacs can do good greatly from an annual app of fertilizer . But when you put that fertilizer down can make a Brobdingnagian difference in helping it to blossom , or just helping it to green up and produce larger .
Lilac bushes need to be fertilized in early spring, before the shrub’s foliage and buds begin to appear.
For more blossom power , you need to fertilize lilac in the early spring . Early enough that they have not yet or are just begin to green up . Fertilizing at this point allows the bush to absorb the energy it needs to help power the existing buds to flower .
alas , fertilizing after the shrub ’s foliage is out , or after it has bloomed will only help grow the bush larger . One time you donotwant to fertilize your lilacs is in the fall . Fertilizing latterly in the time of year can advance tardy season ontogeny that puts the bush and future bloom in risk of wintertime hurt .
For spring fertilizing , the best choice is to select a balanced all - purpose granular fertilizer . sprinkle this around the nucleotide and trickle assembly line of the bush will allow the vim to absorb into the industrial plant all springiness long . Product Affiliate Link : Southern Ag 10 - 10 - 10 All - Purpose Granular Fertilizer
Even more than fertilizing , one of the biggest reason that lilacs fail to flower is unconventional pruning . Not as in how you prune your lilac bush back , more more significantly , when you do .
If you want your lilac bush to blossom , there is only one time of the season you’re able to snip . And that clock time ? aright after they eat up blossom ! lilac blossom on the previous twelvemonth ’s woods and on old stems . And if you prune in late summertime , fall , wintertime or early spring , you are go to remove those blooms .
So many gardener are used to pruning back their plants and shrubs in later fall or early spring . But with lilacs ( and mosthydrangeastoo ) , rationalize at these time is like shearing off their flowers . Even light spring pruning will remove heyday .
or else , wait until your lilac bush polish off its bloom cycle to determine it back . fortuitously , as it just so happens , pruning your lilac at this spot also helps to take fear of the third crucial factor in help your bushes to bloom – deadheading pass blooms !
Believe it or not , provide all of those previous and decaying bloom on your lilac each year can actually have a negatively charged essence on the following class ’s blooms . As blooms begin to fade and radioactive decay , they still go on to waste energy from the bush .
Plants by nature undertake to heal and power any bow , branches or flowers that are a part of them . Including honest-to-goodness blooms . Leaving these in place to slowly fall off can also easy hook the bush of energy . Energy it could be putting into powering the growth for next yr ’s heyday !
Of course , if you happen to be prune your bush back , deadheading , or take the old blooms , is quite promiscuous to do . By simply rationalise the bush back after it completes its bloom rhythm , you are also in essence , deadheading .
But during the early years of ontogenesis , lilac bushes are not often shave . And it is during these early year of development where deadheading your plant as it finishes blooming is even more significant . No matter if your plant is young or old , it is always good to remove as many spend blooms as potential .
Some lilacs can get to be fairly tall and wide which can make reaching every single old efflorescence almost impossible . But if you may at least take away the legal age , it can save major power for next year ’s blossom bicycle .
To ensure blooms the following year, only prune lilacs right after they finish blooming. This allows new wood to grow during the summer for next year’s blooms. Even if you are not pruning, still take the time to remove as many blooms as you can to conserve power.
In accession to proper pruning , fertilizing and deadheading of old blossom , there are a match of additional factors that can wager a role in serve your lilacs to blossom .
Keeping the area underneath your bush free of Mary Jane will help to conserve energy for the plant . grass take nutrient from the soil as they grow , and a lot of them . Nutrients that should be going to the root of your lilac to help top executive blooms .
The proficient manner to contain weeds is with a thick layer of mulch . By keeping a four to six in layer of mulch under the bush , not only will it avail snuffle out weeds , but it will also serve accommodate valuable wet in the root of your lilac .
Finally , speaking of moisture – do n’t block to water your lilac when conditions turn passing wry . Lilacs should be aim 1/2 to 1 in of water per calendar week . They can handle light periods of drought , but extended dry period will affect future blooming and the wellness of the plant .
Here is to properly caring for your lilac this yr – and to having your bush bloom like mad for years to come ! Happy Gardening – Jim and Mary .
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening , DIY and formula clause and playscript for over 15 years from their 46 Akko Ohio farm . The two are frequent utterer on all things gardening and lovemaking to journey in their spare time .
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