Lilac Tips, Facts and Uses
Hi there friends. Lilacs are one of the most beautiful flowers in my opinion. I love both their scent and the casual ease in which they elevate any room they grace when you add a cut flower bouquet. My Lilacs have come… and gone. But I know many of you are still awaiting the day your blooms burst forth, so I decided to look into how we can make our cut lilacs last longer. Along the way I discovered some tip and uses, so I’m sharing it all with you! They are such a glorious flower and I know we all want them to last as long as possible once we cut them, and bring them indoors. So let’s get some great lilac tips, learn some facts, uses, and find out what else we can do with them.
LILAC TIPS
TIP ONE: When to cut – It’s best to cut your lilacs when it’s cool out. So early morning, or evening are prime times. Cutting in mid-day heat will result in wilted blooms.
TIP TWO: Which stems to cut – To help your cut blooms last, select stems prior to full bloom. Try for about 75% of the flowers to still be in bud form.
TIP THREE: How to cut – When you cut your lilacs you want to use a sharp knife or shears and cut each stem approximately 1 inch from the bottom of the main stem, at a 45-degree angle.
TIP FOUR: After you cut – Don’t dilly-dally after cutting. Have lukewarm water ready and place them in it as soon as possible. Lilacs have a woody stem, you can score the outer stem, as well as “smash it” – so they can more readily drink and receive water. Much like you would a hydrangea. Also make sure to remove any leaves below the water line, and any excess foliage.
TIP FIVE: Best time to prune. New lilac bushes don’t require maintenance pruning until they are about 6-8 feet tall. The time to prune mature lilac plants is just after the flowers have faded. Lilacs bloom on old wood, so it’s critical to prune in the spring right after they bloom. If you prune later in the summer, you may be removing the wood. Late pruning will mean sacrificing next year’s flowers.
TIP SIX: If your lilac flower clusters are getting smaller, it might be time to prune!
FACTS:
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There are over 1,000 lilac varieties.
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Lilacs attract bees.
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Reblooming lilacs do exist.
Syringa ‘Josee’ or Josee – Lilacs tend to bloom for about three weeks in the Spring, but there are re-blooming varieties that will produce multiple times and give a showing in the Fall as well. The Syringa ‘Josee’ or Josee re-blomming Lilac thrives in cool weather. So the Pacific Northwest, the Rockies, New England, Canada, and other regions with reasonably cool summers should see a prolific blooming and re-blooming during a growing season.
Bloomerang – Better Homes and Gardens magazine first introduced the Bloomerang, in a limited release in March of 2009. The variety is reported to do better than the Josee in warmer climates. The initial bloom is heavy and appears in mid-May. It goes through a rest in June and then begins to rebloom in July and continues on until frost. While the summer and fall panicles are not as large as those in the spring, it puts on a very good show. Every single branch bears flowers (not just an occasional flower). One of the reasons for its propensity to flower is its strong growth. As long as it continues to grow it continues to produce new flowers. You don’t have to prune it get it to rebloom, however, a light shearing after the initial bloom results in a fuller plant with more branches and thus more blooms. (More Bloomerang info here.)
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Purple lilacs are at their most fragrant on warm, sunny days.
Find more Planting, Care and Cutting Tips read here at the Old Farmer’s Almanac.
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Lilacs belong to the Olive family.
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Lilacs are edible!
LILAC USES:
As I said above, lilacs are edible, which opens up a variety of uses!
You can use lilacs to create: Lilac Jelly – Lilac Wine – Lilac Cocktails & Liqueurs – Lilac Infused Syrups – Lilac Honey – Lilac Ice Cream & more…
Lilac Simple Syrup
Lilac Haze Cocktail
Lilac Scones
Please visit Holly & Flora [here] for these three beautiful lilac recipes!
This past Mother’s Day weekend we got three new Rhododendron varieties, one is called Strawberry Cheesecake. It was tight in bud so it’s going to be a real surprise for us when it blooms!! We also got a new Honeysuckle. Sadly, there were no lilacs though. I might have to resort to mail order. Because as I’ve mentioned here and there in comments around social media, when we had the workshop built… my one, little lilac was demolished.
I’ve been getting my lilac fix via my very generous sister in law, who happens to have a tree next to her house. I’ve been able to get bouquets from her place, but I’d really love my own.
Do you have lilacs? What colors and varieties? Did you learn anything new today from my lilac tips, facts and uses post? Do you have something lilac related you can add? I’d love to chat with you more in the comments and hear from you!
Wishing you lovely lilac dreams, xo Shannon
I loved the lilac article, it is my favorite flower next to roses. So much easier to grow and maintain.
We have a big, wild rose that we (and the deer) very much enjoy. Lilacs, and Hydrangeas are favorite cut flowers. They are both so easy.
Do you know anything about when and how to transplant lilac bushes? My dad lives near me and has an over abundance of lilacs which are sending shoots up all over the place. I would like to dig some up and replant them at my house to make a sort of hedge. I’m not sure if I should do this before they bloom in the spring, after they bloom in early summer, or wait until fall. (We live just outside of Spokane, WA.)
I was pretty sure it would be after the Spring blooming, and I was right. I found some great information and it sounds like they are a good candidate for replanting. Here it is:
Young lilac bushes are the easiest to transplant. Their vigorous, youthful growth, helps them to quickly move into their new surroundings and plant new roots. Can you successfully move a larger Lilac bush? Sure! It just takes a little more muscle power, and more “TLC”, from start to finish.
Spring is the best time to transplant Lilacs. They do not transplant well in hot, dry weather. Transplant them after the blooming period, and before hot summer weather arrives. It is also important to note that transplanting can affect the next spring bloom. Next year, the bush will likely produce fewer blooms, or none at all. In the following year, you should see a normal bloom of Lilacs.
Such beautiful photos! For Mother’s Day my daughter brought me a lovely bouquet of lilacs. They smell so wonderful! I just melt looking at the colors in your pictures. Turquoise blue is my favorite and lavender seems to mix with it nicely. Last summer, thanks to your inspiring me, I used those very colors on our deck and it was perfect. Will probably do the same this summer. Thank you for the ideas Have a great day!
That is so sweet, what a yummy bouquet to receive! Those were fun colors weren’t they? I have no idea what I’ll do for the patio this year? Hopefully I’ll have time. Have a great day too. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
I love lilacs! I am lucky to have an old white lilac that came with the purchase of our home twenty years ago.and also a younger one named “sensation” My most fragrant is a bush type persian lilac though. When weather turns hot early the bloom time is too short though! For one year’s mother’s day had some shipped to my mom who lived in California and missed them so much. I didn’t realize they were edible so thank you for that info.
We had a hybrid red, white & blue bush a few houses ago. We planted it, and it was so hard to leave! The white are equally as lovely. I don’t recall if they are as fragrant? A Persian Lilac. That sounds delicious 🙂
I’ve heard that the whites are the most fragrant…”the lighter the color, the greater the smell.”
Oh that is so interesting!! Thanks for letting me know. Colored flowers are so vibrant and beautiful, but I love white as well. I had an all white garden section at my California house and it was filled with white Geraniums, Gardenia, Azaleas & Hydrangeas. It was so calm and zen like 🙂
Love lilacs!! There is no other smell quite like it:)
They are divine. I use the Mrs Meyers Lilac products year round for a little fix 🙂
beautiful I love them.
here in the u k it’s unlucky to bring them indoors.
I’ve no idea why ?
Oh no! I know they have medicinal purposes and are edible, so I can’t imagine why? They smell so lovely.
I might test my luck. lol. I so enjoy ours.
Such a beautiful post! We don’t have lilacs in Florida but I have precious memories of them in my great grandma’s backyard in New York when I was a child. I can still remember the scent! Thank you for stirring up those sweet memories!!
I feel the same about things from California, I don’t have here in Oregon, like Hibiscus. My Grandma had Lemon and Limes trees, but it’s not warm enough here on the coast for them. Have a wonderful day Carol.