Does dwarf Korean lilac ever bloom?

12 years ago

I got one of these 2 years ago and it is about 2 1/2 ft tall and I guess not getting any taller. The blooms are not what I expected, they are barely noticeable and have no scent. I'm fine with the size, but thought the blooms would be more like a basic Syringa, do I need to prune to get better flowers? Is this normal for this variety?

Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
have you pruned previously????

is it in full sun???

are you fertilizing it???? could it be favoring green growth from too much nitro ... is it in the lawn???

it should get much bigger than yours... check out the link ...

the flowers are similar.. but perhaps more dainty ... thinner ... but they should have a pretty good scent.. not quite as intense as the big ones...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
poaky1
Original Author
12 years ago
I haven't pruned it yet, it's in full sun, never fertilized it,it's got one of those rubber round mulch mats under it, I can see the purple where the flowers are, but they haven't bloomed yet, they are still closed. Last year they never opened or weren't showy at all. This shrub is near the house so I don't think I would miss it blooming.
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ditas
12 years ago
I happen to have one ~ a very old one that bloomed so sweetly & profusely over the years but had moved her several times trying to follow the sun! In the last site I dug her out of, the trees grew all around & shaded her beautiful site in my front foundation. I pruned her severely to 18" after her scanty blooms & moved to a south exposure foundation & now she is as lovely as can be so full of bunches to burst as she used to, very soon!!!

Be patient & give her losts of sun she should please as they usually do. BTW I've only added the usual cotton seed mulch when we moved her for the last time ~ 2yrs ago - lots of her roots even got chopped off in the move but Lilacs are not whimps!!!
poaky1
Original Author
12 years ago
Sorry for the lapse since my original post. It has lots of the dark purple tops where flowers go, as it gets every year since 09, but they've never opened and reveiled the light purple or pinkish blooms. It gets all sun from about 8:30 til sundown. Which is full sun if it's 8 hrs +, from my understanding. We,ve always gotten late frosts but hopefully won,t this year, but that should'nt hurt Lilac should it? I will keep waiting, they might just open, they are late aren't they? Or maybe I need to be patient, it's been warm and rainy, all my trees but a few are leafed out.Thanks for the encouragement, I'll try to be patient !
buyorsell888
12 years ago
Sounds like frost has killed your buds every year. Korean lilacs are more heat tolerant, but less frost tolerant.
poaky1
Original Author
12 years ago
That must be the reason because we haven't had any bad frosts this year and it is starting to open buds (flower buds) that are pink as an earlier post said it would, and they do smell like lilacs. We usually get many light to med frosts til about Mothers day, last year the day after Mothers day was the last frost. I'm guessing the cloudy rainy days for weeks are why frost wasn't an issue this year.So thanks for all replies.And buyorsell that must be the reason.