4 reasons to grow lilac in your garden

Lilacs are a hardy and beautiful plant that's perfect for Canada's cooler climates. Here are just a few reasons why they can enhance your garden.

• Lilacs are excellent plants to locate at doorways or along paths, where the sweet fragrance will greet passersby.
• Place them along the edge of the lawn, where they can be planted close enough together to form a hedge.
• Compact dwarf types can be worked into mixed flower borders.
• Try including lilac in foundation groupings with other shrubs on the sunny side of a house.

• Select a site that receives at least six hours of sun daily and has good air circulation. These conditions will limit problems with fungal leaf diseases.
• Common lilac requires a period of winter freezing to set flower buds. It seldom flowers well in areas with hot, humid summers and mild winters.
• Plant container-grown or bare-root plants in late winter or early spring.
• Container-grown plants fresh out of dormancy need attentive watering to keep the soil moist. This is especially true if their first summer in the garden is a dry one.

• Once established, lilacs respond to fertilizing with a balanced, timed-release commercial product or top dressing of compost in spring.
• In acidic soils, it's helpful to sprinkle garden lime on the soil above the roots. Apply according to package directions every three to four years to neutralize the pH.
• Prune lilacs to improve flowering, promote good air circulation and discourage powdery mildew and boring insects.
• Remove damaged or diseased stems as soon as you notice them.
• In mid-winter, cut out about one-fourth of the oldest, largest stems as close to the ground as possible. Snap off any suckers you see as well.
• Branches that have small holes with sawdust around the openings harbour boring caterpillars. In summer, they cause stems to wither and die.
• Cut the stem 2.5 centimetres (one inch) below the caterpillar's hole and dispose of it. Or, insert a thin wire into each hole to kill the pests.

• The most fragrant of all lilacs is the common lilac, whose flowers are usually a pale purple colour. It grows to about three metres (10 feet) tall and has numerous cultivars.
• Some lilacs have bi-coloured blossoms, such as 'Sensation,' whose purple-red florets are edged in white.
• Two lilacs variants have superior heat tolerance. 'Palibin' is a slow grower with dense trusses of lilac-pink blossoms. 'Miss Kim' has fragrant flowers that are purple, blue and white.
• In climates with cold winters, look for cultivars of S. × hyacinthiflora. These bloom early in spring with a distinct sweet fragrance. They're also resistant to disease and boring insects.
• Another hybrid that's made a big splash in cold-climate gardens is the S. × prestoniae. Developed in Canada, these are equally hardy.

With their legendary hardiness and distinctive colourings, lilacs have become a favourite amongst Canadian gardeners. If you're planning on growing these beautiful plants, be sure to pick a variety that will grow in your region. Take extra care when planting and your lilacs could floursh.