A mass of medium-light purple blooms every year. A magnificent New England sight for nearly 400 years.
When a nursery friend looked out John Bunker’s living room window and thought he had some fancy new cultivar, he chuckled, “Nope, just the good old common purple.” Never disappoints.
Suckers freely, the best lilac for a spreading hedge. Z3. (1-3' bare-root plants)
Items from our perennial plants warehouse ordered
on or before March 7 will ship around March 26
through late April, starting with warmer areas and finishing in
colder areas. Orders placed after March 7 will
ship around late April through early-to-mid May, in the order in
which they were received.
ships in spring
7576
Common Purple
Additional Information
Small Trees and Shrubs
As Green’s Nursery catalog from 1904 explains, “There are many trees that by pruning can be made to resemble shrubs, and many shrubs that by different pruning may be made to produce medium-sized trees.”
Lilacs Syringa spp.
Lilacs have been a fixture in the New England landscape for generations.
More
often than not, when we find old apple trees, the ancient lilacs are not
far
away. The large rambling suckering shrubs continue to flourish each
spring long
after the buildings have disappeared and all that remains of homesteads
are
crumbling stone foundations. Why were the lilacs always planted just
outside the
kitchen door? On cold winter mornings, someone would clean out the wood
stove
and sprinkle ashes on the icy path to the backhouse, the woodshed or the
clothesline. The earth outside the kitchen door became more alkaline,
which
lilacs love.
Excellent alone or in hedges. Deep green glossy heart-shaped foliage
looks
good all season. Intensely fragrant blooms in May. Flowers range from
singles to
doubles, pure white to the deepest purples, pinks, reds and lavenders.
Bees and
butterflies love them, too. Ornamental, edible (frittered flowers),
medicinal,
and a great Mother’s Day gift.
Planting: Add a shovelful of wood ash or lime to
the
hole at planting time, then add another shovelful of either every 3
years. A
yearly mulch of manure or compost will encourage spectacular annual
blooming. Pink, lavender and blue lilacs color up best in soil with
a
neutral pH.
Pruning: If you choose to prune your lilacs, do it
right after flowering. (Late-season pruning removes next
year’s buds.)
As the plant matures, prune off a quarter of the new suckers and the
oldest
growth (a few main stems each year).
Some growers prefer to keep the plant low and
bushy.
Do so by “topping” it off every year: prune any
upright
branch back to a junction with a lower branch. Others prefer a
tall
tree-like form. Our friends Philippe and Danielle have let
theirs soar
to 8' or more, removing the lower branches and creating a
magical
walkway in the process. Lilacs are more than willing to cater to
your
own personal vision. Have fun! No need to cut off spent flowers
except
for appearance.
Lilac isn’t blooming?
Too shady: lilacs need sun to form blossoms.
Over-pruned: pruned too late, removed buds. Also,
some
plants respond to excessive pruning by putting their energy into
vegetative
growth instead of flowering.
Too wet: lilacs like well-drained soil.
Over-fertilized:
lilacs will bloom well without assistance. Too much
fertility
can lead to more vegetative growth and inhibit bud formation.
