Lilacs should be planted in the garden in late summer/early fall, when it is no longer hot and dry but still warm enough. Then the roots have time to grow in in time for winter - while in spring the plant no longer has to spend any energy on rooting in, but can sprout. You will probably have to wait another two to three years for the first flower - lilacs only flower at a later age.
Plant and cut in autumn
Plant lilacs properly
Container plants are already rooted and are therefore ideally planted in the garden between August and early October. The best way to do this is as follows:
- Dig a sufficiently large planting hole.
- This should be about twice as big and deep as the root ball.
- Fill it completely with water and wait for it to drain.
- Mix the excavation with a shovel of compost and a handful of horn shavings.(32.93€)
- Now pot the lilac out of its container.
- Plant it and fill in the soil carefully.
- The lilacs must not be lower in the pot than before.
- Tread the earth thoroughly.
- Water the plant thoroughly again.
On the other hand, it is better to plant bare-root lilacs on a frost-free and dry day in late winter, when the soil has already thawed.
Raising young lilacs
A young lilac planted in autumn can be trained into the desired shape with the help of sharp pruning shears.
For a dense lilac bush
- remove anything that was bent in transit
- also all weak shoots
- shorten the main shoots by a third each
If, on the other hand, you want to raise a tall stem, select the strongest shoot for the main shoot and tie it to a plant stake. Remove all other shoots growing from the roots.
Overwinter freshly planted lilacs
In the first winter you should protect the young, freshly planted lilac from the cold. To do this, you can cover the root disc with spruce or fir branches. Bark mulch, on the other hand, is not optimal, as this keeps the moisture in the soil - lilacs need a rather dry soil.
tips
If you still want to enjoy lilac blossoms in autumn, it is best to plant the Syringa microphylla 'Superba' variety, also known as "autumn lilac". This dwarf song flowers again and again between April and October, interrupted only by short breaks. 'Superba' is also ideal for the vase.