whats the point of moving them????

ken

I plan to move them because they have never done well in this location. I thought it might have something to do with the lawn fertilizer. We have also changed much of the landscaping in our yard and they are out in the middle of things now.

What does a good, reliable soil test say about the soil this Lilac is struggling to grow in?
Lilacs grow best in soils that are near neutral (pH 7.0) that are well endowed with organic matter and are evenly moist but well drained. However, I have a Lilac that self seeded near a Red Pine and Austrian Pine windbreak (some 60 feet from the nearest Lilac) that is growing quite well and blossomed this spring. I have never tested the soil there and there is moss growing on the soil and it is near a low spot where in the spring the high water table is 6 inches above the soil surface and where even in August the soil 8 inches down is quite moist.
A Lilac 15 years old is just a teenager. I have one growing quite well that is over 70 years old.

This post was edited by kimmsr on Tue, Aug 20, 13 at 7:16

i am on mineral sand ... no amendments ... no organic matter .... no water after the second year .. you cant beat them back with a stick ...

if you wish.. dig a 2 foot rootmass.. and drag it across the yard ... with the truck.. and dump it in a new hole.. and water.. deep into fall ... maybe even backfill it properly .... i would not waste money on soil amendments.. nor fertilizer.. nor nothing ....

i have seen these.. in front of abandoned 100 year old farmhouses.. bigger than the house.. out here in the country .... its one way to know there used to be a house there .... the barn is still standing.. and off 100 feet in one direction.;. is some ginormous old lilac ....

the neighbor had a giant landscape project.. and on a last minute whim.. decided to save a lilac.. and they sorta dug a new hole with a backhoe .. and ripped out an 8 footer.. and sorta replanted it in the new hole.. it lived... same sand as me.. but they had irrigation installed.. so theirs got good water ...

if you can figure out how to kill them... let us know ...

i would do this.. in mid sept.. not august....

ken

Exposure to excess fertilization (especially lawn fertilizer) is one of the primary reasons lilacs fail to bloom. However, they generally produce adequate growth and an abundance of foliage, so I doubt the lawn fertilizer is causing an issue.

Lilacs are prone to a bacterial blight that can weaken the plant and cause loss of foliage - research Pseudomonas syringae and see if your shrubs are showing symptoms. If so, you can embark on a dormant spray regime that can help. Generally though, lilacs need minimal care - just well drained soil (does not need to be richly organic), minimal fertilizer and once established, they are very drought tolerant.

As Ken alluded - these shrubs thrive on benign neglect and can live for generations without any attention. Don't fuss them :-)

Are 'weed and feed ' products part of your annual routine?

I put wood ash from my fire pit around them to raise the ph.

Thank you all for your comments. We are on sandy soil here (Cape Cod) I agree they should be no fuss. I do see lots of lilacs growing wild here. I seem to think they may have the Pseudonomas infection. I've started reading about this and it seems to fit. Again thank you for your inputs

It is a common fallacy from folklore that Lilacs need an alkaline soil. The pH of the soil that Lilacs do best in ranges in the 6.5 to 7.0 pH area, so dumping wood ash around Lilacs is probably no more a good idea than dumping wood ash anywhere else.