{"id":26581,"date":"2026-05-09T03:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T10:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/?p=26581"},"modified":"2026-05-04T15:57:22","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T22:57:22","slug":"lilacs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/2026\/05\/09\/lilacs\/","title":{"rendered":"Lilacs"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Carol Barany, <\/strong>Yakima County Master Gardener<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every gardener has a list of plants they wish they could grow, but can\u2019t, because of Yakima\u2019s freezing winters.  I count it a blessing that lilacs are not on my list.  Lilacs are plants for colder climates, requiring a period of cold-initiated dormancy to trigger flowering chilly Zones 4-7 can offer.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On April walks through my neighborhood, I enjoy their sweet fragrance on nearly every block I pass.  For me, spring smells just like lilacs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilacs are members of the Syringa genus of 12 species of flowering plants in the olive family and native to Russia and Poland. These deciduous shrubs were introduced to America during the mid-17th<\/sup> century by French settlers and have become a part of our horticultural history.<\/p>\n\n\n

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In 1767, Thomas Jefferson recorded his method of planting lilacs in his \u2018Garden Book.\u2019 In 1785, George Washington noted in a journal that he had transplanted existing lilacs in his garden. The oldest living lilacs in North America may be those at the Governor Wentworth estate in Portsmouth, N.H., believed to have been planted around 1750.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next century, lilacs were planted in gardens across America.  In 1906, two lilacs were planted on Second Avenue in Spokane, Washington by one of the city\u2019s early founders.  Six years later, John Duncan got 128 lilac cultivars from Rochester, New York and began planting what would become the Lilac Garden in Manito Park.  In the 1930s Spokane began promoting itself as the Lilac City and launched a festival that has been growing strong since 1938.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rochester, New York is the home of North America\u2019s largest lilac collection, with over 1,200 bushes and 500+ varieties displayed in Highland Park.  Each May, 500,000 visitors attend the Lilac Festival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Closer to home, you can visit the Hulda Klager Lilac Gardens in Woodland, Washington.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, is the most popular species and includes hundreds of varieties that differ in color, size, flower type and fragrance. The spectacular floral show comes in late spring when masses of small flowers are packed into dense pyramidal or conical clusters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Blooms only last for about two-weeks, but their fragrance and beauty make the effort worthwhile. Trust me. If you have room, plant a lilac. Their blooming period can be extended by choosing several varieties of lilacs that flower at different times<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilacs grow best in full sun and well-drained soil. Lilacs grown in partial sun or shade will not flower well. The shrubs may take three to four years to establish themselves in a new site, but once established they can live for centuries.  My home is 102 years old, and lilacs that were planted when the house was first built continue to bloom with very little care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilacs require well drained soil, high in organic matter, with a neutral to slightly alkaline pH, which sounds like Yakima to me. Lilacs do not like \u201cwet feet,\u201d or growing where water pools after heavy rainfall.  Yakima gardeners win again on that count. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You only get one chance to get your lilac off to a good start, and lilacs are plants that can live for a century or more. Dig a planting hole 2 to 3 times the width of the root ball, but no deeper than the root ball\u2019s dimension.\u00a0 Back fill the hole with the native soil. Don\u2019t add amendments.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Air circulation is also critical to help prevent powdery mildew, so use proper spacing if you\u2019re planting more than one lilac. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lilacs bloom best on healthy, new growth rather than on old stems. To ensure abundant flowering, cut off all spent blossoms each year and prune the flowering stem back to a set of leaves, thus preventing seed formation. Don\u2019t wait too long, because next year\u2019s buds begin forming in summer.  Pruning in winter removes those buds and eliminates the following spring\u2019s blooms.  It\u2019s always appropriate to remove dead, damaged, or diseased branches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When neglected, lilacs can reach 15 to 18 feet in height with leaves and blossoms only at the very top of the branches.  Tall, leggy, poorly flowering plants call for renewal pruning.  Remove about one-third of the oldest stems at ground level each year for three years. This encourages growth of vigorous new stems from the base. By the end of three years the plant should be fully rejuvenated with blossoms once more at nose level where they can be appreciated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tough as lilacs are, they do need ample water as they establish. Lilacs thrive in moist but well-draining soil, but are fairly drought tolerant when established. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To make cut lilacs last longer, harvest them early in the morning when \u00bd to \u00be of the flower buds are open.  Remove the leaves to reduce moisture loss, and split or smash the bottom 2\u201d of the woody stems. Place them immediately in fresh water. Kept out of direct sunlight, they can last 3-4 days.  <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Carol Barany, Yakima County Master Gardener Every gardener has a list of plants they wish they could grow, but can\u2019t, because of Yakima\u2019s freezing winters.  I count it a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":210,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":0,"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","_external_link":"","_expiration_date":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[65],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26581"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/210"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26581"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26586,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26581\/revisions\/26586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/extension.wsu.edu\/yakima\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}