Everything You Need to Know About Lilacs

A big thanks to my lovely mother in law, Cathy, for this weeks post. She sent me home yesterday with not just a big bouquet of cut lilacs but also with a section of her lilac bush to grow in my own yard. Lilacs are a sentimental and traditional flower grown in both my family and in my husbands family. The particular bush mentioned above was originally grown by my husbands great grandmother and now part of it will be enjoyed daily by my daughter as well.

Aside from sentimental reasons, lilac is a great bush to grow in your yard. The smell of fresh lilac flowers is absolutely to die for and even when the plant is done blooming for the year, it can still provide a nice privacy screen and habitat for wildlife.  As you can see, the blooms make a lovely cut bouquet in the house.

This plant is looking a little wilted because I had just
transplanted it. With time, it should do quite well here.

You can buy a lilac bush or get part of someone else's bush as I did. Spring and Fall are the best times to transplant a lilac bush. They prefer well drained soil in a sunny spot and may need some watering for a while after planting. However, once your bush is established, it will be very low maintenance. When established, I prefer to look the plant over towards the end of summer every year to prune out any dead branches but that's it.

If you're buying a new plant from a nursery, you may want to consider a "bloomerang" variety as they will re bloom again in the fall. One of my neighbors has a great specimen and it was quite surprising to notice it and enjoy the smell of fresh lilacs in October.

Do you grow lilacs in your yard? Do you have other sentimental flowers that you grow? Feel free to write about it in the comment section below.