Anyone know how to encourage a lilac to bloom?

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

At our summer camp a previous tenant has planted lovely old fashioned flowers everywhere. We have Hostas totally bordering the site and lily of the valley, dusty murtle and daffodils and day lilies and forsythia. There is a lilac bush at the front of the site. We have been there 3 summers and it has not bloomed as yet. We feed it Miracle grow and the bush itself is very healthy looking , but never any sign of any flowers or even buds. It is in a well drained area and gets a lot of sun. Last year we fed it miracle grow bloom booster but all to no avail.

When we first took over this site we were not getting healthy plants or flowers from many of those that are there but after one summer of diligent watering and feeding they all turned around except this one lilac bush. We are grateful to whomever did all this beautiful planting in the first place and we wish to be good stewards of the beauty they left us.

violann · ‎03-10-2010

It takes a long time for small lilac bushes to bloom. Ours didn't bloom for 6-7 years, but since then they've lived through 3 very major storms and continue to bloom each year. As little (5') plants they're not prolific, but a few stalks of blooms every year.

denisemb · ‎12-07-2012

I agree with Newnick ame, it takes a few years before they bloom, and they seem to appreciate a "trim" after flowering to allow for blooms to set for the next year. (I.E., when I lived in MI, I planted a "Miss Kim" lilac and went nuts once year cutting stalks to perfume the house - the next year, she produced twice as many blooms!)

If you don't get blooms this spring, give it a haircut and see what happens for next year. Check your planting zone to see when flowering should occur to determine when to prune.

Denise

Trix · ‎03-16-2010

The bush probably needs a severe pruning to encourage new branching and more flowering in future years. Don't worry about killing it even if you cut it back about 6-inches. The lower older branches will appreciate the light and that alone may help sprout a few flowers. In the meantime keep watering and fertilizing.

I highly recommend spraying throughout the spring summer season (at least 2 to 3 times a month) with Spray 'N Grow. I use this product on my 5 foot lilacs and they bloom profusely in a moderately shady spot adjacent to a tall building.

Good luck!

ValuSkr · ‎03-15-2014

I'd say lay-off the chemical fertiiizers and give it a layer of compost instead. You could be over-feeding, which results in lots of new growth but no flowers. Don't prune from June on, or you're liable to cut off buds, and keep the plant well-watered during dry spells, or the buds could dry-out and fall off. My source is Mike McGrath, who has an excellent organic gardening program on public radio:

Lilacs - Mike McGrath

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

Last summer late in the year it got horrible little beetles on it - DH sprayed for them and then cut back - pretty radically - all the dead stuff they had killed. Before we left in the fall ti had started to fill out again beautifully. It is a pretty bush even if it doesn't bloom but I would so much like to have flowers.

JustJazzmom · ‎03-09-2010

Were they this insect? Lilacs are not mentioned but they are considered ornamental plants in this article.

http://ipm.ncsu.edu/AG189/html/Fuller_Rose_Beetle.HTML