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'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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Posted by triciae Zone 7 Coastal SE CT (My Page) on Wed, May 30, 07 at 9:18
| My 'Miss Kim' has only two flower heads this year (on the north side of the shrub). It's been in the ground 3 seasons & has bloomed well each year. I stick chalk sticks around the base once/year, prune immediately as flowers fade, irrigate when no rain in 2 weeks, it's in full sun, & vegetatively is growing well but not overly fast.
I'm wondering if others in southern NE are having a poor bloom this year on 'Miss Kim'? Wondering if it wasn't cold enough for a long enough period of time for good bloom? I've had many oddities this year like PJM blooming in January so it was a bust this spring, primroses bloomed in December & January & did not this spring. Is it possible it was just the strange weather patterns, in general, for lack of blooms on my 'Miss Kim'? Usually, she's so reliable.
I live out on a small penninsula jutting into Mystic harbor so I don't have much to compare to. Even at Mystic Seaport, the weather is different (colder in winter/hotter in summer). Hoping to hear from somebody right along the water with 'Miss Kim'.
Tricia |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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tricea,
I have a mature 7-10 year old Miss Kim that a few years ago I planted in my hospice section and walked away. My non cultivated area's have an average ph of 4.4 so trying to keep lillacs happy was not a chore I wanted to add to my list. That said of course it took off and thrived but is now too large to move to a location where it can be seen and appreciated. I just went out and checked mine but I believe I am a week - week and a half behind you my oaks are just begining to leaf out, rhodies just begining to bloom, wisteria standard in full bloom. I will report back next week. kt |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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| OMG I'm not the only one!! My MK is 3 years, and only has 3 buds this season. She was covered in blooms her first 2 years. All 3 of my blooms face the north, backside of the plant. It's kind of embarrassing! lol I thought for sure I must have mispruned her. What I think really happened was the late, extreme frosts. I remember buying seeds at our favorite garden center, and the clerk told me those late, bitter frosts could negatively impact spring flower buds. That would make sense as the back of my MK would be somewhat protected from the bitter winds. My neighbor OTOH has plenty of buds so who knows. =( He's a plant & walk away gardener so I know he didn't do anything. |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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- Posted by jant z6MA (My Page) on
Thu, May 31, 07 at 6:24
| I tossed my 3 Ms Kim's this year...sigh. Not reliable and defoliating for some unknown reason. Full sun, great soil, moist...who knows? You want a terrific compact Lilac? Get Korean Dwarf....I've had one for 3 yrs and it's a standout. Much tighter, dense shape, TONS of blooms always ....I bought 2 more recently. |
lilac
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| Oh, Korean is also a heavy bloomer even when young as opposed to Ms Kim which can take some years to build up steam in the bloom department. Stratham Circle Nursery has great plants at cheap prices...that's where I buy mine. |
tricia
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| Oh, HI Tricia...Guess you don't want to go to NH for shrubs! I "intrepreted" the southern NE as southern NH for some reason........lol. |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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- Posted by triciae Zone 7 Coastal SE CT (My Page) on
Thu, May 31, 07 at 7:14
| mehearty, We didn't have any extreme frosts. We had 4-5 nights, over the course of the entire winter, that dipped into the upper single-digits & they weren't right in a row. If anything, I don't think we got cold enough, long enough... runktrum, I'm anxious to hear whether you get blooms? I've got exactly TWO blooms sticking out from the north side of the shrub...decidedly silly looking! Tricia |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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| My Miss Kim had NO blooms this year. Tinkerbelle is loaded with blooms just 50 ft. away. I may move Kim to a less noticeable location this winter. |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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| I am amazed at the variation of lilac performance in my yard. Some thrive with many blossums and others just die. I can not comment on the Miss Kim lilac. I am very impressed with the blooms on my Sensation (purple edged with white, Mrs. Edward A Harding (double magenta), and Michael Buchner (double lavender). I have these lilacs on top of ledge in lousy soil amended with lime and compost. You may want to replace Miss Kim with a more prolific bloomer for your location. Chervil2 |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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| I am in Metrowest Boston, and my Miss Kim is just starting to bloom. She has a decent showing of blooms, but they seem smaller this year than the last 2 years. Then again, I moved her over about six feet this Spring. So that could account for the smaller blooms. I hope that she is not crapping out - I paid at least $40 for this lilac 2 years ago, and it is in a very prominent location (part of my front shrub/perennial border). |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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| I am in southern CT about 3 miles from the Sound. My Miss Kim is against the house, facing south, in probably the hottest and driest part of my yard. I ignore it most of the time, and this year so much so that I completely missed all of the flowers. It appears that it had a less than normal number of flowers. We did have a few very bitterly cold and windy days this winter. Maybe this was a factor? |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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Triciae,
Definately fewer flowers for me this year, perhaps 15 on the south and east side of the shrub and as if it was cut in half zero blooms on the north and west side. This has me wondering if the thaw/freeze event was at marginal temperatures allowing some blossoms on the southeastern-warm side of the shrub to survive. kt |
RE: 'Miss Kim' Lilac...in southern NE
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- Posted by triciae Zone 7 Coastal SE CT (My Page) on
Thu, Jun 7, 07 at 8:45
| Thanks for the report, runktrun. Odd, the only two blooms I got were on the north side of the shrub where, I presume, it was colder? How cold did you get? Susie, interesting that your 'Miss Kim' also had less bloom but you're far enough inland that you're probably right about the cold snap. Does anybody know what the dormancy requirements for 'Miss Kim' are? Tricia |
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