From the beginning of May you can smell the characteristic scent of lilac blossoms everywhere, as the magnificently blooming shrubs and trees can be found in almost every garden. After flowering, however, you should use scissors to clean out the withered shoots.
When and how should you cut lilacs after flowering?
After the lilac has bloomed, usually at the beginning of May, you should cut off the roots of any dead shoots. Also remove over-aged, diseased, dead, irregularly growing or weak shoots. This promotes growth and prevents disease.
Pruning of lilacs is always done after flowering
Remove the flower shoots directly at the base using sharp and disinfected garden or rose scissors (€14.00 on Amazon). This measure has various advantages:
- The lilac can no longer form seeds and therefore cannot self-seed.
- Instead of producing seeds, the shrub puts its energy into growth.
- Flowered shoots are potential sources of entry for pathogens.
- If they are removed, fungi etc. will also have a harder time.
Furthermore, now is the right time to carry out any necessary pruning or maintenance pruning of the lilac. So not only remove the withered shoots, but also
- over-aged as well as sick and dead branches
- “crosswise” growing, i.e. H. shoots growing criss-cross or inwards
- thin, weak shoots
- Shoots with only a few leaves.
Tip
Lilac flowers are also very suitable as cut flowers for the vase.
