For many gardeners, when they hear “lilac”, what comes to mind is the shrub that blooms lavishly in spring and has a characteristic scent. It has adorned our gardens for many centuries. In fact, there are around 30 different species - and an almost unmissable variety of varieties that can be used to extend the flowering period. So that your lilac sprouts particularly beautifully, you can pamper it in early spring.
How to care for lilacs in spring for lush flowering?
Lilac care in spring includes adding compost before budding, horn shavings for poor soil, no cutting before flowering and protection from late frosts with garden fleece. So nothing stands in the way of lush lilac blossoms in spring.
Pamper your lilac with a compost when it sprouts
For this purpose, provide your lilac bush with a generous shovel of ripe compost before it sprouts. If the shrub is on rather poor soil, add a handful of horn shavings (€32.00 on Amazon) - but no more, because this fertilizer contains a lot of nitrogen, which in turn is not beneficial for flower formation - but is for them Formation of dense foliage is essential. Work the fertilizer carefully (the roots run close to the surface of the soil and should not be injured!) into the root disc and, if necessary, water with stale or rainwater.
When the lilacs bloom, spring really begins
By the time the lilacs bloom, the actual spring bloomers such as snowdrops, March cups and daffodils have long since faded, but the gardening year is now really just beginning. The most commonly planted lilac, Syringa vulgaris, shows its flowers from the beginning of May, depending on the weather, but in some years even earlier or later. However, some varieties bloom much later: the royal lilac 'Saugeana' (Syringa chinensis) opens its fragrant light purple splendor between May and June, while the arched lilac (Syringa reflexa) only opens in June. Syringa microphylla 'Superba', also known as autumn lilac, has a particularly long flowering period and blooms again in summer/autumn after a spring blossom.
Caution: only cut lilacs after they have bloomed
So that your lilac actually shows its flowers in spring, you should definitely not cut it beforehand - then you will remove the flower buds that were already formed the previous year. Instead, the flowering bush should always be cut back immediately after flowering.
Protect flower buds from late frosts
In some regions of Germany, late night frosts are not uncommon, even in May. To ensure that the frost does not destroy flowers or shoots, you should protect the lilac - especially when it is still young - with a garden fleece.
Tip
The numerous small lilac flowers on the panicles usually only have four petals. However, sometimes you will find ones with five or even more - according to superstition, these, like four-leaf clovers, bring good luck to their finder.
