Lilacs- Then and Now

You may remember the sad little lilac bush that I bought from a farmer's market last year on clearance for $29.99.  It was somewhat scrappy looking, so I bought it on an impulse.  I grew up with a giant lilac bush in the back yard and loved smelling lilacs wafting through the house on summer afternoons.  

This lilac didn't exactly look like the blossoming type.

BEFORE

And the lilac said, "Finally!"

We FINALLY got the lilac in the ground.  Here's the short version on how to plant a lilac shrub:

1. Buy a lilac shrub. 
2. Call your local utilities company to find out where power/electric lines lay in your yard.
3. Ask your fiancé to dig you a big hole.
4. Reevaluate.  Ask your fiancé to dig you a bigger hole.
5. Procrastinate 2 weeks.
6. Cover the bottom of the hole with a layer of garden soil mixed with peat moss/compost.
7. Gently tease out the roots of your lilac plant. 
8. Place the lilac in the hole so that 1-2 inches of the plant peak above the earth.
9. Surround the plant with the same garden soil/compost/peat moss mixture.
10. Build up the area around the plant with more good soil.
11. Cover everything in mulch.
12. Water heavily with plant food immediately after.  

 There you have it. How to plant lilac.  

New plants take 2-5 years to flower, so hopefully we see them closer to 2 years.  I won't be pruning the plant until it gets to be 6-8 ft tall.  Right now, it's about 4 ft tall.  The rule of thumb with pruning a lilac shrub is to cut to the base any stems 2 inches in diameter, and never cut more than 1/3 of the stems.  It will be quite some time before I have to worry about that!


Stay lovely,


Christine

Lovely Lilac

Spray paint really can do anything.

You may be wondering what lilac has to do with red and orange lines sprayed on a sad looking lawn.  Well, in Maryland, if you're planning on doing any digging, you have to notify Miss Utility before you dig.  In Maryland, it's the law to verify where all power lines, pipes, gas lines, etc are in your yard before you dig them up.  Digging up utility lines and pipes can result in downed service for yourself and others, or even death if you electrocute yourself. 

All of the lines that go through our yard are in the front, well in front of the landscaped areas.  However, they may be problematic down the line when we edge our trees with stone.

So what's this about lilacs?