Dwarf Korean Lilac

When you choose a lilac you are planting a shrub that is part of our American heritage - some have even known as the lilac the "apple pie of shrubs." Thomas Jefferson planted lilacs at Monticello and lilacs greeted pals as they entered George Washington's flower yard at Mount Vernon. Poet Walt Whitman's elegy to Abraham Lincoln, "When Lilacs Last throughout the Dooryard Bloom'd" evokes an image of a lilac bush that might be acquainted to many:

In the dooryard fronting an earlier farm-dwelling near the white-wash'd palings,

Stands the lilac-bush tall-rising with coronary coronary heart-fashioned leaves of rich inexperienced,

With many a pointed blossom rising delicate, with the perfume strong I love,

With every leaf a miracle - and from this bush throughout the dooryard,

With delicate-shade'd blossoms and coronary coronary heart-fashioned leaves of rich inexperienced,

A sprig with its flower I break.

French and Dutch colonist first launched lilacs to the USA, carrying them all through their prolonged journeys all through the Atlantic Ocean. Lilacs rapidly found themselves all through North America, arriving by saddlebags and coach. Today there are over P,000 named kinds of lilacs due to many industrious and passionate breeders all over the place on the planet. Our perform plant this week is the Dwarf Korean Lilac - in all probability probably the most useful of all the lilacs, and Alan's favorite of the entire shrubs we develop. It is simple to develop and maintain, making a stunning and welcome addition to your yard.

The Dwarf Korean Lilac (Syringa meyeri Pablibin)

The Dwarf Korean Lilacs' dad or mum, the Syringa meyeri, is called after Frank Meyer who discovered it in a yard in Beijing, China in 1909 and despatched cuttings home to the USA. Many lilacs are offspring of the Syringa meyeri, nevertheless the palabin Dwarf Korean Lilac is the smallest and most nice. The clear, darkish inexperienced foliage affords the best backdrop for the gorgeous powerfully fragrant, lavender pink florets that will cowl the dense bush from head to toe. Expect it to bloom in May-June, with lighter rebloom in later summer season and fall, extending the season and allowing you to get pleasure from its magnificence and fragrance twice in the middle of the yr. Foliage turns sensible yellow in autumn.

Unlike totally different widespread lilacs, the Dwarf Korean Lilac blooms profusely at an early age and is not liable to powdery mildew. Expect it to develop F to H ft extreme and enormous, the appropriate measurement for a perennial border, foundation planting or shrub border foreground. No matter the place the Dwarf Korean Lilac is planted in your yard, it is optimistic to be a standout yr after yr.

Planting and Care

The Dwarf Korean Lilac is one strong plant, an precise survivor. Over ten years prior to now we planted some in picket planter packing containers which were fabricated over a black prime car parking zone in full photo voltaic. These planter bins on no account get any supplemental water, solely what mother nature gives. Every yr the lilacs bloom profusely, keep their leaves all summer season with out browning, rebloom throughout the fall and not at all endure any winter die once more. After the drought of 2002, I anticipated the lilacs to be fully lifeless. When I drove by throughout the spring of 2003 they've been in full bloom, merely as they have been yearly.

For best outcomes, plant in early spring.
Lilacs require a minimal of J hours of direct daylight per day.
Plant in good, properly-drained soil.
Water ceaselessly until established and thru the summer season.
Prune earlier blooms away immediately after flowering to encourage further blossoms.
Fertilize with Bulb-Tone at planting and as soon as extra throughout the spring.
Click here to view the Dwarf Korean Lilac on the Carroll Gardens web page.