Flowers · Perennials and shrubs
Common lilac
Syringa vulgaris
A large deciduous shrub with cones of scented lilac, white or purple flowers in late spring. It needs a cold winter and a sunny, open position to flower freely.
Growing conditions
Soilchalk, clay, loam
Moisturewell-drained, moist
pHneutral, alkaline
Position
SunFull sun
Aspecteast, south, west
Exposuresheltered, exposed
HardinessH6
Size
Time to maturityFlowers well after 2–3 years
Max height3–4 m
Max spread2–3 m
In the garden
Plant in the dormant season. Prune, if you must, straight after flowering, because next year's buds form on the summer growth. Remove suckers from grafted plants.
Lilac blight blackens young shoots in a wet spring. Cut those shoots out.
Colour and scent
A mark in a season means the plant is doing that for at least part of it.
| Season | Foliage | Flower | Scent |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spring | Leaves | lilac | Scented |
| Summer | Leaves | — | — |
| Autumn | Leaves | — | — |
| Winter | — | — | — |
- JanDormant
- FebDormant
- MarDormant
- AprFoliage
- Maylilac
- JunFoliage
- JulFoliage
- AugFoliage
- SepFoliage
- OctFoliage
- NovDormant
- DecDormant
Jobs
These dates suit a mild southern garden. A northern or Scottish plan shifts spring and autumn jobs by a fortnight.
10 June
Prune after flowering
Shorten spent lilac flower stems immediately, before the shrub sets next year's buds.
1 November
Plant
Plant a container-grown or bare-root lilac in autumn, at the same depth it grew before.