Lilacs: Sweet Fragrance in Spring

Have you ever wondered where all the fragrance in flowers has gone? Some of my fondest childhood memories involve picking fragrant flowers in our backyard. Everything from old-fashioned roses, trying to “uncling” clinging sweet pea flowers from their chicken wire fence and collecting an armful of lavender-colored lilacs.

Still among the most fragrant of flowers are lilacs. Common or French lilacs (Syringa vulgaris) will take you into the past with their exquisitely colored flowers whose scent is world famous. What’s more, they make excellent cut flowers to bring the wonderful fragrance indoors. Flowers bloom in late spring on bushes or small trees.

Right now is an ideal time to buy lilacs. They are available in both 1-gallon and 5-gallon containers. Cost is approximately $15 for one-gallons and $40 for 5-gallons.

Common lilacs are also known as French lilacs because that’s where many of the earliest hybrids were bred. However, there are many new strains of hybrids that were developed in southern California that will adapt to our warmer winters better than others. Look for these southern California hybrids that have lower chill requirements at nurseries.

Basically, all lilacs grow on deciduous bushes that reach 6 to 15 feet high and 4 to 12 feet wide. But you can easily prune them to keep the flowers at eye (and nose) level. You can also prune the shrubs into tree forms with only a single trunk, turning what is normally a shrub into a small flowering tree that will fit nicely into the corner of a patio or deck. Consider, too, planting lilacs near a window so you can enjoy the fragrance indoors on warm spring days.

Lilacs are definitely low maintenance. They’ll grow almost anywhere in any type of soil, but be forewarned -- they are slow growers. They do best in full sun or light shade. They aren’t picky as to water and can be somewhat drought-tolerant once established. For maximum flowering, avoid over fertilizing especially with high nitrogen fertilizers or an excess of manures.

Flowers bud on old wood, so do not prune heavily or you won’t have many flowers the following year. Instead of pruning, thin out dead and weak wood, opening up the center to light. Some varieties tend to “sucker,” and send up lots of shoots. It’s a good idea to thin out this weaker growth.

If you don’t like the look of spent flowers hanging on, deadhead old flowers after they bloom. Just be sure to cut just below the flowers since cutting further down the stem will remove the buds for next year’s blooms.

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