Inside The New York Botanical Garden

Tip of the Week — 4/29/08

Posted in Gardening Tips on April 29 2008, by Sonia Uyterhoeven

Lovely Lilacs
Sonia Uyterhoeven is Gardener for Public Education at The New York Botanical Garden.

Lilacs For those of you who love lilacs but are deprived of space, dwarf lilacs are something to think about. Some of them have nice fall color and they are small and compact, need minimal pruning, and tend to be more resistant to the powdery mildew that plagues many lilacs at the end of the season.

Two varieties that you will be able to find in any nursery these days are Syringa meyeri ‘Palibin’ and Syringa pubescens subsp. patula ‘Miss Kim’. Don’t be intimidated by the long Latin names; if you mutter lilac ‘Miss Kim’ or ‘Palibin’ everyone will know what you are talking about.

With all of this said, if you have space for a common lilac, sometimes referred to as a French lilac (Syringa vulgaris) or an earlier blooming Hyacinth lilac (Syringa x hyacinthiflora), they are worth growing in the spring for their voluptuous flowers and wonderful fragrances.