lilac pruning to maximize surface area for blooming?

9 years ago

Just about everything I've read advises cutting one third of lilac branches to the ground every year for 3 years to rejuvenate but I don't see how that's needed for my lilac yet.

The lilac I have has deep purple with a bit of red (magenta?) flowers so it's a show stopper. What I would like to do is to trim it down a bit because one side is about 5-6" taller than the other side.

I'd also like to cut a few branches lower around the shrub to bring more flowering down to other ares of the plant.

On a side note, it was cute this year that one small new branch inside the plant got a big panicle(?) of flowers. Sun must have hit that spot just right last year. It was like a secret flower that could only be seen if you looked down into the plant from the upstairs window. Well, anyway...

Is it ok for me to trim the lilac this way? This is the time this week as the flowers have just finished blooming. The shrub is about 8 years old and is maybe 10' tall or a little less.

I can take a picture or two if needed.

Thanks!

Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
9 years ago
no need for a pic ...

you know how you are supposed to do it ...

you want to do it another way ...

do it!!!! it your plant ...

the worst that happens... is that you realize.. in a few years... why the other way is preferred ... live and learn ...

go for it...

ken

ps: if the root of the issue is... that you will somehow harm it.. or kill it.. by pruning the wrong way.. let me assure you.. that pruning never killed any shrub .....

pps: actually ... its the tall ones.. that should be pruned way down low ... the first third ... and next year.. the remainders will probably be that tall ... most likely.. the plant itself is telling how to do it ... but.. if you dont want to.. who are we to say otherwise ....
seagreen_turtle Z5b/6a SE Michigan
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks Ken. So what will happen if I prune the way I want to instead? Lack of flowering? is that it?

My neighbor had a huge standard lilac (pale lavender flowers) that was shading my conifer when it grew over into my yard. I made a couple of modest cuts one year and the next spring those cuts flowered better than the rest of her monster. So it seemed those two cuts down to 2 feet (but not to the ground) actually helped.

Ken, I'd rather you tell me what's going to happen if I prune it my way instead of the "down to the ground" way instead of learning the hard way over the next few years. If you have the time to answer again. Thanks!
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Smivies (Ontario - 5b)
9 years ago
"lilac pruning to maximize surface area for blooming?"

Pruning increases bloom size, it doesn't increase blooms. If you want to "maximize surface area for blooming", don't prune at all. The overall plant size increases (more surface area) and as it approaches mature size, almost every bud produces a panicle of flowers...they are quite a bit smaller in size but the entire plant will be covered in them.
seagreen_turtle Z5b/6a SE Michigan
Original Author
9 years ago
Thanks smilies, I didn't know that pruning increases the size of each bloom but not the number of branches that get a bloom. This year my shrub got fewer than prior years. I never prune it except deadheading. Haven't had the heart and never had time or energy at the right time. But I am off on vacation this week and this is the right TIME. The blooms are brown. It is time to prune.

One side of the shrub has always been taller than the other. Not a few taller branches here and there. The whole left side is a few inches taller. I'm going to even it out a little. None of the branches are old (big around) so I hesitate to take them down to the root. Maybe next year.

I'm a reluctant pruner except for butterfly bushes and hibiscus. This past weekend I added beauty berry to the list because the extremely harsh winter killed my four foot shrubs to the ground. But there's lots of new growth from the roots so I cut off all the dead branches. Fortunately it wasn't in a privacy hedge else it would have been, "Hello, neighbor!"

I do have five other lilac shrubs, all different varieties. I will be pruning some of them for shape because they grew up really funky with lots of space between the branches. I did prune my little one last year (maybe it's a Miss Kim?) that was struggling.and had a lot of dead branches. Now that I've removed some old yews that were near it it seems much happier. It got a lot of new blooms this year and I see that they came up all over including at the base so I should learn a lesson from that.

Thanks all for your help.