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LILAC GUIDES

Lilac plant with purple flowers growing outside with green foliage in the background

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Lilac is an attractive shrub , and although it only blooms for a brief stop , it is great for wildlife – and the flowers are actually edible too.1Foraging Guide Lilac . ( n.d . ) . The Foraging form fellowship . Retrieved March 21 , 2023 , fromhttps://www.foragingcoursecompany.co.uk/foraging-guide-lilac

Syringa cultivars can make great choice for many gardens , but if you do n’t have much space , or can only grow in container , you might wonder whether you may produce lilac in pots .

a large purple Syringa shrub growing outside on a sunny day

Can You Grow Lilac In Pots?

“ Lilacs can theoretically be grown in large containers , but they are an belligerent raise plant life when in dependable health and vigour , ” tell David Gressley , Board Member at the International Lilac Society .

The of import thing to understand is that there are many unlike lilac cultivars to choose from .

These often arrive from the unwashed lilac , Syringa vulgaris , but can also be derived from other lilac specie .

pink flowering lilac plant with green leaves in front of a blue sky

Some cultivar grow very large , up to around 7 m tall and wide .

However , the estimable news show is that there are also many much more compact choice , and many of these are splendid pick for pocket-size garden , or , indeed , for container cultivation .

Some compact lilac cultivar that could be good selection for container include :

pink and white lilac flowers growing outside in front of other green leaves

This compact lilac isS. meyeri , and grows into an upright deciduous shrub .

It has panicle of flowers in dissimilar colouration ( depending on the fussy choice from this ambit ) in spring / early summer .

It is also H7 hardy .

purple flowering lilacs growing outside with a blurred green background

This bushy , rounded shrub has matt leaves that are oval to centre - shaped .

In the late springtime and intermittently through to late fall , it produces dense sprays of lavender - pinkish flowers .

It repeats flowers most reliably in nerveless climates and is H6 hardy .

magnified view of pink and white Syringa flowers

Slower produce and with a dense , rounded physique , this lilac isS. prestoniae .

It has oval green leaves , and is a floriferous varietal wine , with pinkish buds that open to paler pink blooms , on erect to nodding panicles .

Syringa‘Minuet ’ is H7 stout .

red flowering lilac plant with green leaves as a background

Another bushy and slow - acquire lilac that is H5 brave .

This option has broadly ovate , dark gullible leaves and bears upright panicles of small , fragrant blossom with a lilac - pink hue in late bound or early summer .

“ Because my stain is acidic , I ca n’t grow the largeS. vulgariscultivars that I would care to in my garden , ” shares Master Horticulturist Colin Skelly .

lilac plant with lilac flowers growing outside amongst its leaves

“ To whelm this , I purchasedS. meyeri‘Palibin ’ to acquire in a container . Although it is smaller lilac it is now 1.5 one thousand height and width , so still needs a large pot and plenty of weewee in the summer .

“ Through yearly pruning and re - potting every 2 - 3 years , it stays around this sizing and healthy , but bear in mind the eventual size of ‘ modest ’ lilac and ensure you have the blank space to lodge   them . ”

This is a compact lilac with circulate branches .

someone making a compost mix with soil and grit in a bowl on top of a work surface, surrounded by gardening tools and gloves

The leaves are modest , and of a mid - green chromaticity , flex yellow in fall .

In belated saltation , and often again in late summer or early autumn , this shrub bears nebuliser of scented flowers which open from violent bud to deep pink blooms , which pass off to a paler pink as they mature .

These eccentric rarely outgo 1.5 m in height and width , so are much better fit to container culture , and are H5 stout .

purple flowering Syringa

Choosing A Container

Even small lilac cultivars will usually need a reasonably large container .

Typically , when growing a lilac shrub in a pot , you will want to choose one that is at least 60 centimetre in diameter .

The container you pick out should be stout , stable and heavy enough to grapple with a bush without tipping or blowing over when placed in your garden .

white flowering lilac plant potted in a glass jar in front of a garden trellis, with plants growing in the background

It is also important to make certain that whatever container you choose has adequate drainage mess or holes at the base , so that supererogatory water can debilitate out freely .

Choosing Your Compost

Lilac need a soil - based growing medium for undecomposed results when being grown in a container long full term .

The growing spiritualist typically chosenshould be a peat - free mixwith some Baroness Dudevant or grit tot to better the drain .

Potting Up Syringa

When potting up lilac , you should ensure that the shrub sits at the same level that it ride in its previous pot .

localize a small of the grow mass medium into the base of the sess , then aim the lilac shrub into the skunk and firm more of the growing mass medium around the sides , ensure that there are not any line pockets around the root word .

Once you have place the lilac into its new container , irrigate it in well , making certain that surplus water supply can enfeeble away freely , and fan out an organic mulch over the open of the territory .

pink and purple coloured lilacs growing outside with trees in the background

Typically , lilac is grown on its own in a container .

Remember that even the small lilac shrubs will grow into clean large plants .

Lilacs also have a fairly shallow root arrangement so might receive surplus competition if other plants are placed alongside them .

recall , however , that lilac can benefit from having other works growing in containers nearby , for purposes of constitutive pest mastery .

For example , flora blossom nearby that appeal predatory louse that help keep populations of pesterer like thrips down .

Just make certain that your lilac has skillful airflow and place to catch one’s breath since overcrowded conditions can increase problems with contagion with fungal issues .

Potted Lilac Care

Though lilac in the ground is a great low - sustenance plant , lilac in pots will typically need a lilliputian more precaution and take up a little more of your time , mostly because of the necessity of keeping the average moist .

However , even in pots , lilac is a comparatively easy and straight shrub to maturate .

To manage for lilac in containers , come out them in a sunny and sheltered place , with a moist yet destitute - draining medium , in such a position that supernumerary piddle can drain off as it should .

raise pots with pot stands or metrical unit can facilitate to ensure that winter wet does not cause an issue .

In the ground , lilac can also cope with an break localization , but when grown in pots it is full to choose a sheltered patch so that the plants do n’t become unstable and potentially squander over in unattackable farting .

“ periodical rootage pruning can be incorporate into the maintenance regime , ” sound out David .

“ In essence , containerised lilac can be treated much like how a bonsai flora is maintained if you need to grow a small bush . ”

Other things you could do to assure your lilac grows well in pile include :

References