I'm kind of surprised it has lived, bloomed, and looked healthy for 4 years, growing might be too much to ask in this climate! LOL

I haven't grown lilac, neither garden center I managed would sell them, and we never put them in designs unless a customer demanded it and then we warned that even the "heat tolerant" varieties don't usually do well here. They like neutral to alkaline soil, well drained soil.

My neighbor has a lilac that is as tall as her house. It is not a Miss Kim. I think she said it is English Lilac. She does nothing with her plants except plant them no food no water and still they grow.. Her lilac is located near her foundation on the east side, and is shaded most of the time because of her other big trees. Ahhh I just have a gray thumb verses this lilac. I have a Persian Lilac that is 10 ft tall but it does not have the lovely lilac scent.

The alkaline soil might be it. There is a HUGE Oak that drops it's leaves all around the area where the Miss Kim is growing. The tree and it's roots are not near the Miss Kim but in Fall the leaves get on it. Someone told me that Oak Leaves are acid. Oh NO, plus I put pine straw on it for mulch last year. I get it for free from one of my neighbors. Pine Straw is acid too, I think. I will change the mulch and try putting some bone meal on it.

Bone meal helps to remove/reduce acid right??

I recently learned how to root plants from clippings and have been successful with Gardenia and Confederate Rose. So I might get a clipping of my neighbors Lilac and try that.

I have to have a scented Lilac in my yard. My Mother is deceased, she LOVED lilac. The lilac reminds me of her.

Lime will raise your soil PH. From what I know of bone meal, while it is alkaline, it takes an extreme amount to change the PH. I would recommend taking a soil sample near the drip line (and out) of the plant and sending to Auburn for analysis. That will tell you how much lime you need to add and how often. Bear in mind it takes time for the lime to do its thing in the soil, so don't expect immediate results. The finer the lime is ground, and if you are able to mix it in the soil, the faster it will change the ph, but that still takes months. We do have naturally acidic soil with oaks and pines, but fertilizers also add to the acidity of the soil, as can other things. By checking your PH you'll know what you are dealing with. Here is a link you can copy and paste which explains how all that works if you are interested: http://hubcap.clemson.edu/~blpprt/acidity2_review.html

Lilacs like 6.0 - 7.0 PH and they don't like wet feet, but if it wasn't draining well, it probably wouldn't still be there :-)!

What part of Alabama are you in?

Below is the link to get a soil sample kit to mail some soil to Auburn.

Here is a link that might be useful: Auburn soil lab

I live North of Huntsville, New Market. Thank YOU for the info and links I will send a sample to Alburn and see what's up. It is beginning to bloom.