My Allee of Lilacs
Among the most fragrant blooms of spring are the colorful lilacs, Syringa vulgaris. If you don't already have lilacs in your garden, I encourage you to grow one, or two, or even three - they will give you years of beautiful blooms.
I love lilacs and have enjoyed growing them for many years. In fact, the common lilac has been part of the American landscape for centuries. Lilacs planted in 1650 on Michigan’s Mackinac Island are some of the oldest known lilacs in the country. At my Bedford, New York farm, I have a long allee of lilacs located behind the chicken coops, not far from my tennis court, and every spring it just bursts with gorgeous color.
Enjoy these photos.
-
- I planted this allee about 14-years ago and it has thrived ever since. Lilacs are low maintenance, easy to grow, and can reach from five to 20-feet tall or more depending on their variety.
-
- For maintenance, we always edge the beds and make sure they are dressed with good, nutrient-rich compost. When selecting a location for lilacs, choose one that has good air circulation to reduce the likelihood of fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew.
-
- The corners are also perfectly manicured. And try to keep on top of the weeds. Weed pulling around lilacs will reduce any competition for water and nutrients.
-
- I also make sure any dead or thin twigs, damaged or diseased branches, are all pruned yearly.
-
- These lilacs become fuller every year – in part because of regular pruning. Always cut just above a bud eye. The “bud eye” refers to the area on the stem where branching occurs. And never prune after July 4th because, at that point, the tree has already begun to set next year’s flower buds.
-
- This is the cross-section of a dead branch – it is very woody in appearance. Good pruning and grooming are important in the care of any plant, shrub, or tree.
-
- By mid-May this year, the lilacs were in full bloom – rich violet, blue, lilac, pink, purple, and white. If you plant lilacs, be sure to choose a spot that is large enough to accommodate the mature size of the plant.
-
- The lilac, Syringa vulgaris, is a species of flowering plant in the olive family Oleaceae. Syringa is a genus of up to 25-cultivated species with more than one-thousand varieties. ‘Sensation’, first known in 1938, is unique for its bicolor deep-purple petals edged in white on eight to 12-foot-tall shrubs.
-
- The purple lilacs have the strongest scent compared to other colors.
-
- Lilac leaves are usually shaped like elongated hearts. They are rich green and both lilac shrubs and lilac trees are deciduous, meaning they will shed their leaves in the fall after reaching full maturity and after the growing season ends.
-
- Lilacs have pyramidal clusters of blossoms with both single and double varieties.
-
- ‘Angel White’, which reaches 10 to 12 feet tall, bears an abundance of fragrant, pure-white blooms, and thrives as far south as hardiness zone 8.
-
- They appear from mid-spring to early summer just before many of the other summer flowers blossom.
-
- Most lilacs thrive in hardiness zones 3 through 7, in cooler climates with chilling periods. Lilacs are typically clump-forming, producing new shoots from the base of the trunk, which can be used for propagating.
-
- Lilacs grow best in full sun and moist, well-drained, humus-rich soil.
-
- Young lilacs can take up to three years to reach maturity and bear flowers, so be patient.
-
- Lilacs were introduced into Europe at the end of the 16th century from Ottoman gardens and arrived in American colonies a century later. To this day, it remains a popular ornamental plant in gardens, parks, and homes because of its attractive, sweet-smelling blooms. Beneath the lilacs, I also planted lots of colorful roses.
-
- And, lilacs were grown in America’s first botanical gardens – both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson grew them.
-
- If enjoying them as cut flowers, cut the lilacs right at their peak, when color and scent are strongest, and place them in a vase as soon as possible.
-
- Here are two arrangements made over the weekend and placed in my servery next to my kitchen. These lilacs fill the entire room with color and fragrance. See more of these arrangements on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
