Hey there everyone! So my mother has this beautiful lilac bush that she has had for years. This past weekend we really wanted to bring some inside, but my mother worries that cutting off, or taking some of the flower will cause those spots to not grow back next year. Does anyone have any information or advice?
Hi Ava, I cut my lilac flowers every year to bring inside to enjoy their beauty & fragrance. I think lilacs respond to pruning out the dead wood and select pruning of the older stems. Without this, they tend to get quite tall with the flowers at the tippy-top & out of reach (& out of nose reach!).
Cayuga is absolutely right! When we moved to an old house in upstate NY, there were lilac bushes 12-15 feet tall, with blooms on the very tips. I cut them down to about 5', gave them some fertilizer, and in two years had bushy, lovely lilacs. By all means, bring in a big bouquet and enjoy the color and the fragrance. Lilacs may look delicate, but they are as tough as nails. A bit of pruning just encourages growth, so go for it!
Thanks guys! I will be sure to show my mother this information so we can enjoy those flowers with our breakfast
They say the time to prune mature lilac plants is just after the flowers have faded. This also gives the new shoots more time to develop nice flowers. Lilacs set flower buds for the following year almost immediately after flowering. Later pruning might mean sacrificing next year's flowers. It is wise to prune out any stems larger than a two inch diameter. Keeps the bushes more vigorous.
