Chinese Lilac (Syringa chinensis)

Mid-sized and mid-season charmer! The Chinese Lilac (Syringa chinensis) features dreamy clusters of showy lilac-pink blooms that are oh-so fragrant! You’ll extend your Lilac enjoyment by planting Chinese Lilac with early and late blooming varieties and be able to enjoy these blooms until summer! Use the 4-5 inch long panicles of pale purple flowers to fill your vases and carry that luxurious scent indoors! Plus these profuse bloomers draw pollinators and hummingbirds galore!

Highlighted by the medium to dark-green foliage, Chinese Lilac features a polished, rounded shape and multi-stemmed form, with arching branches all growing season long! Loose and informal, these are great screens and bird-friendly shrubs, growing between 6 to 12 feet in height and width. Their more open canopy adds motion to the landscape in addition to those gorgeous blooms!

Gorgeous flowering deciduous shrubs like these Lilacs are cold-hardy and very adaptable additions to beautify the landscape! So versatile and multi-purpose, any fire-wise landscaping, xeric area prone to droughts, or anywhere in need of some spring color and fragrance needs one of these classic garden shrubs!

Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 3 through 7 and deer resistant, pest and disease resistant plus so easy to care for, no landscape seems complete without one of these versatile and well-known shrubs!

Planting and Application:

Traditional hedge and specimen plants, Lilac fragrance and early spring beauty fill the garden with their delightful presence everywhere! Create living fences and privacy screens that your neighbors won’t mind being hidden behind! Highlight your property’s perimeter or divide your front from the back yard with a living wall. Create lavish ‘Outdoor Rooms’ that whisk the world away and allow you to relax in tranquility.

Add these soothing plants around your terraces and patio retreats to unwind the nerves and quiet the mind with sound, texture, color, scent, motion and privacy! Cottage garden anchors, or accenting your foundation plantings, Chinese Lilac will have a substantial hefty, compact form that doesn’t become leggy or sparse. The twiggy and shrubby growth makes Lilacs fantastic windbreaks and shelterbelts!

Long after the spring blooms are spent, the lush green is a fitting backdrop for your summer blooming Perennials and Rose beds. Pollinator gardens are grateful for the addition of these nectar-rich resources for your hummingbirds, bees and butterflies!

Intersperse among your mixed-shrub borders or create your own Lilac garden! Blooming in May, plant with other earlier and later blooming varieties for an extended spring and early summer of delicious Lilac scents! Try an early blooming Evangeline or dark blooming Declaration Lilac to start the show, then continue things with a Charles Joly or Ludwig Spathe Lilac, while filling in the gaps with reblooming Lilacs like Josee!

Don’t forget to bring those gorgeous blooms indoors too! Long-lasting sweetness fills your vases and bouquets so you can enjoy Chinese Lilac indoors and out!

• Large Clusters of Lilac-Pink Blooms
• Mid-Season Blooms
• Sweet Traditional Lilac Fragrance
• Soft Medium – Deep Green Foliage & Heart-Shaped Leaves
• Shrubby Compact & Mid-Sized
• Attracts Butterflies & Hummingbirds
• Privacy, Hedge & Windbreak, Firescaping & Xeriscaping

Tips for Care:

Lilacs are synonymous with easy-care and cold resistance and Chinese Lilac does love the full sun! These can tolerate some shade but you’ll be sacrificing the number and size of your blooms. Not particular on soil type, any rich well-drained soil is best, preferring slightly alkaline soils. Amend with compost and add organic, slow-release blooming shrub fertilizer in spring. Be sure Lilac does not sit in water, nor dry out for too long to protect your investment, however, Chinese Lilac is a lower water usage shrub, making it perfect for Fire-wise landscaping and Xeriscaping!

A generous layer of mulch helps retain soil moisture as well as insulate the root system from heat and chill. Water well through the crucial establishment period and during extended drought. Be sure to not cluster Lilac too tightly among other large trees or shrubs. While Chinese Lilac does exhibit better resistance to powdery mildew, good air circulation is a must! Chinese Lilac also has higher deer, pest, and disease resistance.

If you live with deer in your area, apply repellent spray on planting day. Deer are hungry and curious, and you want to train them to leave your plants alone. Reapply according to the label.

Don’t miss a single bloom! Follow these easy Pruning steps for the best flowering. It is important not to prune Lilacs until after they have finished blooming, because if you wait too long and you may remove next year’s flowers! Every few years, Lilac benefits from a renewal pruning too.

• Shines in Full Sun
• Well-Drained Enriched Soil
• Moderate Moisture & Mulched Beds
• Long-Lived & Low Maintenance
• Rarely Bothered by Deer & Rabbits
• Great Cold Hardiness & Easy Care

Versatile and adaptable, it’s no wonder why Lilacs have been in gardens for centuries! Lush greenery, fragrant rosy-lilac flowers and fantastic hardiness, the Chinese Lilac is a great addition to your landscape design!