One of the main signs that the warm season has begun is the flowering of lilacs. Her sweet smell evokes thoughts of green grass and blue sky on a beautiful spring day. There are about 20 different species of this deciduous shrub and many different hybrids.
Description of Lilac
Lilac leaves are usually heart-shaped, but are more pinnate or lanceolate, depending on the species. Most species bloom once in spring. Tubular flowers are collected in inflorescences – panicles at the ends of the stems of the plant.
The most common colors: lilac, white, purple. There is a variety whose flowers are purple with a white stripe around the edge. Victor Lemoine, a French plant breeder, is credited with developing terry varieties, commonly called French lilacs.
When the bush fades, in place of the buds, fruits are formed in a brown peel. They dry out, divide into two parts and crumble to the ground, after which they sprout easily.
And how many times in your life does lilac bear fruit?
The wood of the described bush is very hard: in Europe it was used to create some musical instruments and knife handles.
Judging by the description of lilacs, it develops best in a sunny area and prefers well-drained, slightly alkaline soils. And the abundance of flowering depends on the soil in which it grows. This is an extremely hardy shrub, it can live for decades, and sometimes centuries.
Many people are interested in how many times in their life lilac bears fruit. They will be interested to know that the average life span of a plant is 100 years. The oldest shrub is 130 years old. A seedling blooms in about the 4th year of life. And for this entire period, a plant can bloom about 90 times, which means that it is as many times as lilac and bears fruit in life. Of course, this is rare. Usually she dies after 60 years.
Why does lilac not bloom
Sometimes the bush stops blooming, and many gardeners do not understand why this happened. There are several options that depend on how the lilac grows. The fact is that it forms an ovary on the shoots of last year. If you decide to prune your plants, you need to do this immediately after they have flowered. After shortening the shoots in summer or autumn, you risk removing flower stalks.
After flowering, the plant will set the seeds. And if you never cut it, it will take away a lot of energy from him, and greatly affects how much lilac grows. It will bloom poorly, and sometimes the middle of the bush even dies.
The plant produces a lot of basal shoots, which is easy to separate or trim the dead part under the stump, to again get a full bush. But gardeners rarely follow this path, not wanting to leave unsightly holes in the landscape. The best strategy is to cut large stems by one third every year for three years. By the end of the third year, the entire bush will be rejuvenated and will bloom.
Pests and pests of lilac
Another reason for the lack of flowering may be damage by pests, for example, lilac hawthorn. This insect makes moves under the bark of lilac, because of which the branches begin to dry out.
Another dangerous insect is the scale insect. When it is damaged, brown or gray warts appear on the trunk and stems. You can get rid of it by trimming damaged branches and treating lilacs with special chemicals. Proper care and suitable conditions for the bush is the key to strong immunity and helps the plant to fight pests itself. It depends on how many times in life a lilac in the area bears fruit.
At the end of summer, a plaque similar to a white powder may appear on the leaves of lilac. This is a very common fungal disease called powdery mildew. A preventive measure that protects plants from infection is sanitary pruning, which improves air circulation inside the bush.
Powdery mildew should be treated with fungicides, twice spraying them with the bush completely, with an interval of 14 days.
Planting lilacs is a great way to complement the garden landscape with a bright and unpretentious shrub. This plant has dwarf varieties that do not need a lot of space: they can easily fit in a small yard or in a summer cottage. For example, the Josy hybrid can re-bloom in the fall, which is unusual for such shrubs. In any case, lilacs will certainly become a decoration of the garden and will never cease to be associated with spring and the warm sun.