It is difficult to find a garden in which the common lilac does not grow. Fragrant flowers in large inflorescences have become a sure sign of spring. The plant is unpretentious, but requires competent pruning. A description of the various varieties of common lilacs and agricultural cultivation techniques are outlined in the article for amateur gardeners who are not indifferent to beautiful flowers.
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Botanical Description
The genus of lilac from the olive family includes about 30 species growing in China and Southeast Europe. Since ancient times, it has been used for landscaping, more than 2 thousand varietal varieties are bred, most of which are obtained on the basis of common lilac.
Whole oval shaped leaves oppositely located on the shoots with a pointed end. Small fragrant flowers are collected in large panicle inflorescences; they grow at the ends of shoots. Corolla in flowers of four to five petals, simple, rarely terry.
Common varieties and species
About 300 varieties were bred by the Russian breeder Kolesnikov. Currently, no more than 60 varieties are preserved in Russia. The most beautiful of them are Beauty of Moscow and the Banner of Lenin.
The beauty of Moscowwas received shortly after World War II. The flowers are initially pink, turn white with a slight pink tint, and at the end of flowering are snow-white.
Lenin Banner - one of the rare red lilacs with simple but lush inflorescences, like terry varieties. At the beginning of flowering, it is purplish-red, and then lilac-red.
No less popular varieties of the French breeder Lemoine.There are over 214 varieties of French lilacs.
Other varieties of common lilac bred by breeders:
- Amy Schott - deep blue large-flowered, terry;
- Belle de Nancy - pinkish-blue with carmine buds, a double whisk;
- Vestal - snow-white, large-flowered, aureole simple;
- Galina Ulanova - snow-white, unblown flowers of a shade of baked milk, brooms simple;
- Jeanne d’Arc - snow-white with cream-yellow buds and large double flowers;
- Cavour - violet-blue large-flowered with reddish buds, inflorescences up to 25 cm long;
- Katerina Hawameyer - purple with a pinkish tint, purple-purple buds, double flowers;
- Condorcet - semi-double lilac-blue, tall, abundantly blooming;
- Beauty Nancy - terry pale pink, loose inflorescences, buds are dark pink;
- Madame Abel Chantanne - creamy white terry, low bush, late flowering;
- Madame Charles Suchet - pale blue, flowers are simple, inflorescences slightly sparse;
- Dream - violet-blue with a bright center, flowers are simple, fragrant;
- Monique Lemoine - snow-white with cream buds, bushy, flower diameter 3 cm, characterized by long flowering;
- Hope - blue with purple buds, double flowers;
- In memory of Ludwig Shpet - purplish-violet with simple flowers, plentiful blooming in late terms;
- Primrose - light yellow, fades to white, simple flowers are very fragrant, rare yellow variety;
- Soviet Arctic - white lilac, double flowers;
- Celia - soft purple with large inflorescences.
Outdoor landing
It is optimal to plant container lilacs so as not to depend on the beginning of the growing season, inflorescences on such a plant can not be removed. When spring planting with an open root system or with a lump of earth, all inflorescences are removed.
Planted in August, lilacs are shaded from sunlight for 2 weeks until it takes root. Regularly watered, mulch the trunk circle.
Selection and preparation of a landing site
Common lilac prefers sunny places, breathable soil with an almost neutral reaction, pH 6.5–7.5.
Lilac diseases contribute to areas with high groundwater levels. It is desirable that they lie no higher than 1.5 m. Highly windy areas are also undesirable for lilacs.
Prepare a well for planting in advance. If the soil is poor in nutrients, compost or humus is added to it, gravel or broken brick can be poured into the bottom of the hole for drainage.
How and when to plant lilacs correctly
The best planting time in the open ground of most garden plants is spring. But with lilac, things are a little different. Often, during the spring planting of lilacs with an earthen lump or an open root system, one can observe how it lags in growth. Her leaves and inflorescences are small. Such lilacs lag behind in development by a year.
The plant prefers later planting. The best time for planting is August or September.until the leaf is opal. In this case, the lilac still has time to root.
If you couldn’t plant it before the frost, then it’s better to leave this job until spring, and just lilac up the lilac. Therefore, in order not to depend on the season and weather, it is best to buy a container lilac. In this case, it survives equally well with spring, summer and autumn planting.
Common Lilac Care
Caring for lilacs is not particularly difficult. Watering, loosening of the soil, mulching of the trunk circle, application of fertilizing is necessary.
An important point is the correct annual pruning. If neglected, there will be no abundant flowering.
Watering lilacs
Watered so that the soil is always slightly moist. It is advisable to shed the root system several times a season with a mixture of Kornevin and Zircon.
Regular watering during flowering and shoot growth is especially important. After flowering, in summer, shrubs are watered on hot days, it is useful to sprinkle on a leaf in the early morning or evening.
Fertilizing and fertilizers
In the first two years of vegetation, fertilizers under the bush can not be applied, with the exception of spring feeding with urea. Lilac is fed with nitrogen from the second year of cultivation, at the rate of 60 g of urea per 1 bush.
Likes the plant organic food. As a fertilizer, a mullein prepared in a 1: 5 solution is perfectly suitable. A good top dressing is ash diluted in water (100 g per 4 l.).
Pruning common lilac
If the lilac is not cut, it runs wild, the flowers become smaller. With incorrect pruning, flowering can also not wait.
The peculiarity of the lilac is that the flowers bloom in spring on the early shoots of last year, which matured and matured over the summer. The buds are located with these shoots at the peduncle itself.
If you cut a beautiful bouquet of lilacs along with leaves, flowering on this branch next year can not wait. Therefore, dried flowers are removed at the very base, without touching the two upper buds located near the inflorescence.
You can’t ignore branch pruning either. Cut all weak shoots going inside the crown, as well as small shoots around the bush. Gently trim the crown in height, giving it the desired shape (it is better not to get carried away too much so as not to be left without flowers for next year).
In lilacs grafted on the stem, cut off all the wild growth and branches that go below the vaccine. These are branches of a wild plant on which a cultivar has been grafted; they will take all the juices onto themselves and will soon grow, taking the place of a grafted, weaker trunk.
Breeding methods
There are several ways to propagate common lilacs:
- Seeds, for rootstock and for mass planting in hedges. This method is suitable in cases where the plant variety does not matter.
- Vaccinated when varietal lilacs are grafted onto a wild stock. This method has its pros and cons. Over time, the wild growth of the stock can clog varietal lilacs, and the bush will reborn.
- Cuttings - the easiest and most reliable way to propagate lilacs. It turns out a complete copy of the mother plant with the preservation of all varietal qualities. Unfortunately, not all varieties are well cut.
- Meristem. With this method, up to 10 thousand new specimens can be obtained from one uterine plant without interruption for the winter period. This is a promising method of reproduction, but its implementation requires a laboratory and trained personnel.
Disease and Pest Prevention
In addition to the usual pests - aphids, whiteflies, caterpillars, lilacs can suffer from such insects:
- lilac hawthorn;
- lilac moths;
- lilac moth spotted.
In the fight against moths, spraying with a solution of fosalone (0.2%) helps. Moth is destroyed by chlorophosomes (0.3%), moth - phthalophosomes (0.1%).
Bacterial rot is treated with copper chloride, late blight is treated with Bordeaux fluid.
Possible growing problems
Problems can arise when planting an improperly selected heat-loving variety, but most often seedlings are sold on frost-resistant stocks.
Care must be taken to prepare the soil on the site. Planting common lilac in heavy soil can lead to unpleasant consequences. The root system of a plant needs air no less than the ground part. It does not tolerate flooding, with excess moisture it rots.
With the wrong pruning, flowering can not be seen. You can’t cut the plant at all either. The flowers grow smaller, the bush grows tall, and the rare inflorescences on its top are visible only from the windows of the second floor.
Using lilacs to decorate the garden
Lilacs have been planted in gardens and parks for centuries. She is valued for beautiful flowers and a pleasant fragrance.
Common lilac and its many varieties are used to create hedges, planted near the entrance to the house or garden to decorate the site. These bushes are decorative throughout the warm season, after flowering their decoration is lush green foliage.
Following the simple rules of agricultural technology lilac, you can get bushes that will delight for many years with beautiful flowering and aroma.
