absolutely Nothing is necessary ...

insure a good deep watering.. late in the season ...

and you should be bullet proof ...

ken

PS: you could probably dig them up and leave them on the driveway all winter.. and they will live.. lol ...

Heh. That's what I was told. I had planted two rose bushes a couple of years ago and only one is still alive. A professional landscaper told me to go with lilacs -- that they're hardy and disease resistant.

Actually it was one of three, not one of two. But the lilacs that I planted this spring are beauts, despite the dry weather we've been having.

Don't add fertilizer now as it will cause new growth that may not harden before cold weather.

Is it in a bed or surrounded by lawn? If in a bed, a cover (for the ground, not the shrub) of mowed leaves mixed with a little grass would be great. Just leaves if the grass has already given up is fine also. Does your mower have a bag? If not, unshredded is fine but it's just harder to get them to stay in place. After the kids jump in a pile for a while, that can help shred and smash them flatter, then rake them over to the bed. Hopefully you have one or the other "tool!"