Flowers that appear in spring are especially desired and loved around the world. Their bright beauty gives us a real holiday after cold winter days. Among them, without any doubt, is the lilac, a photo of which can be seen on greeting cards for the first spring holidays.
Lilac is widely used in landscaping urban squares and parks, its gardeners and summer residents love it. In Lebanon, Greece, Cyprus, its name is consonant with Easter. And in Rochester, Hamilton, Boston and other cities, festivals are held every year that are dedicated to this magnificent plant.
Today in the world there are more than 30 types of lilacs. Thanks to the work of breeders, more and more new varieties of amazing plants appear. The theme of our article will be the Meyer lilac - an elegant, compact plant, very fond of in our country. This is a group of small shrubs that have a common name - “balcony series”.
Meyer Lilac: Description
Compact bushes of this plant are not higher than 1.5 meters. Its branches are painted in gray-brown color, bark with small cracks. Young shoots have a dark brown hue. Leaves are elliptical, wide, length from two to four centimeters. At the top, they taper, the base is wedge-shaped, with tiny “cilia” along the edge. Their upper part is dark green, the lower part is slightly lighter, leaves along two veins, which run from the very base parallel to the edges, are pubescent.
Meyer Lilac has an exquisite delicate aroma. Flowers are collected in erect inflorescences. Their length is up to 10 cm. The plant is undemanding to soils, successfully develops even on poor soils, tolerates moderate watering. Almost does not suffer from frost.
It is better to plant fragrant bushes in groups, in the form of a hedge, although single plantings on a flowerbed look very impressive.
Top dressing
The lilac, the photo of which you can see in this article, is very responsive to feeding. Two such procedures per year are quite enough for her. In spring, on melting snow, bushes feed the first time and after flowering the second. If a chemical analysis of the soil on the site has not been carried out, it is better to use ready-made fertilizers (complex) for flowering shrubs. Today, a large number of them are offered by specialized trading organizations.
Meyer Lilac is resistant to many diseases. Sometimes it can be affected by viruses. The first two years before wintering, young bushes are covered with material, trunks should be mulched with foliage or peat.
Breeding
Varietal plants, which include the Meyer lilac, propagate by cuttings, grafting or layering. Lilac seeds are usually harvested in early October. They can be sown in autumn or spring. If you want to sow them in the spring, they must first be stratified.
Cuttings of lilacs are carried out during active flowering. Cuttings are cut from one-year shoots, from the middle part. The substrate for them is a mixture of sand with vermiculite, perlite or river sand (cleaned). The vaccine is carried out by a cuttings, or a sleeping kidney. Hungarian lilac, privet ordinary, ordinary lilac are used for stock .
Grafted plants are grown in the form of a half-stem, bush or standard form. Form a standard should start in the second year after vaccination. The stamp should not exceed a height of 1.5 meters. Stack lilac needs special care - it is necessary to ensure that the main shoot is not covered by shoots.
Syringa meyeri palibin
There are several varieties of this type of lilac. We will introduce you to them. The most popular and sought-after of them is Meyer Palibin's lilac. This is a deciduous shrub. Crohn is very compact. The leaves are opposite, broadly elliptical or ovoid in shape. Their length is about 4 cm, width - 2.5 cm, on top they are completely smooth, dark green, the lower part is much lighter, sometimes downy along the veins, the edges are slightly wavy.
The flowers are located at the ends of the shoots, have a light purple color. There are always a lot of them, and they have a strong aroma. Erect inflorescences up to 10 centimeters long. It blooms in late May. Lilac Meyer Palibin belongs to the repair varieties. This means that it blooms repeatedly. This usually occurs in late summer, but not as plentifully and luxuriantly as in spring.
Growing
This type of lilac is hardy, photophilous, but at the same time tolerates partial shade. He loves fertile, slightly acidic or slightly alkaline moist soils, but does not tolerate flooding.
Planting pits are seasoned with compost or humus mixed with garden soil. Feeding is carried out twice a season. Adult bushes are pruned, removed by dying, old shoots that grow inside the crown. Excessive shoots are removed from the grafted plants. Stem bushes are pruned more intensively.
Palibin lilac seedlings can be formed in the form of a ball, bush or give them a standard shape. This pretty dwarf tree does not exceed 60 cm. In this form, it can be used both for growing in a personal plot and as a pot culture.
At least three to four times a season, it is necessary to loosen the soil (not too deep) - about five to six centimeters. Lilac Palibin is suitable for group and single plantings, to create fairly dense hedges.
Red pixie
Another magnificent undersized and hardy plant. Meyer Red Pixie lilac blooms twice a year. The first time in late May, the second in late July - early August. The bush is compact, rather dense. Its height can be from 100 to 170 centimeters, a width of about 120 centimeters.
The buds are purple-red. The flowers initially have a rich pink hue, then acquire a light pink. Surprisingly, this plant begins to bloom very early. Very small bushes (25 cm) are covered with numerous inflorescences, emitting a stunning aroma. Such a plant is ideal for a small garden.
Blumerang Ash
A repairing variety, which is a complex hybrid of large-leaved, spreading lilacs, Meyer and Juliana. The bush is compact, height is about 150 cm, width is no more than 160 cm. It blooms for the first time in May, the second in August. But most importantly, the color persists until frost.
The flowers have a delicate lavender tint and rich aroma. This lilac is unusually good in bouquets - early in the morning you need to cut two-thirds of the flowering branch, put it in water, splitting the ends at the ends. With repeated flowering, inflorescences are smaller and more saturated in color. To improve secondary flowering, remove faded panicles after the first wave. This type is used in small gardens as a decoration on the lawns or to create original compositions.
Jose
Another wonderful representative of the “balcony series”. Meyer Jose's miniature lilacs - a remodeling look. The bush is small, sprawling, 1.25 meters wide. A feature of the variety is a very slow growth, therefore it is often used to design mixborders.
The flowers are almost purple with a pink tint, with a strong aroma. This is especially felt with a group landing. The first time blooms in late May (sometimes in early June). The second time (late August), flowering is less active.
Like all Meyer lilacs, José prefers sunny, with light partial shade. He feels comfortable on well-drained loam with humus content. Only in dry years does it need additional watering.