How wide can Lilacs get? I'm thinking about getting a Little Boy Blue for the front yard to put in the corner of the picket fence (for when the fence goes up in the fall) and I do plan on putting it several feet at least away from the fence. But could it wind up growing to the fence within a few years?
Can they be pruned so that they don't grow into the fence? Or is it a bad idea to plant one a few feet away from where the fence will be?
I also plan on putting one in the backyard, an Albert F Holden, but there's a lot of room there for it if it does get huge so thas not an issue.
When I do plant them (if I do the one in the frontyard too), what is the best way to do it? We live in zone 6 and we have sandy soil. I want them to turn out beautiful, I love Lilacs but I've never had one before. So I don't want to mess up with them. We're getting 5 yards of wood mulch on Thursday. Can that be put around the lilac after its planted like the rest of my planting areas I'm doing? And what additives should I use when planting to give it nutrition?
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FairyDust
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Hi Fairy Dust,
I realize that you posted this quite a while ago, but maybe this will still be helpful. I'm having difficulty finding out how wide your 'Little Boy Blue' is a dwarf and grows 5' tall in a compact mounded shape. It is also called 'Wonder Blue'. I would say to allow 6' to 8' from the fence, with 8' better. Standard lilacs can get up to 10' wide as it states in the second link.
https://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt9805chart.pdf
https://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001423.html
Lilacs prefer a soil rich in organic matter, so add lots of compost to the planting bed. A 3" layer all mixed in should do just fine. They prefer a more alkaline soil, so adding some lime and mixing that into the planting bed would also be helpful. Synthetic fertilizers high in nitrogen produce lots of leaves at the expense of flowers. 2" of mulch after planting will also be good.
Here's some helpful sites.
https://spi.8m.com/care.htm
https://www.heardgardens.com/basicsforlilacs.htm
https://www.gardenersnet.com/lilac/lilac02.htm
https://gardencenter.southernstates.com/lawn_garden_faq/lilactree.shtml
Newt
I realize that you posted this quite a while ago, but maybe this will still be helpful. I'm having difficulty finding out how wide your 'Little Boy Blue' is a dwarf and grows 5' tall in a compact mounded shape. It is also called 'Wonder Blue'. I would say to allow 6' to 8' from the fence, with 8' better. Standard lilacs can get up to 10' wide as it states in the second link.
https://www.montana.edu/wwwpb/pubs/mt9805chart.pdf
https://web1.msue.msu.edu/imp/modzz/00001423.html
Lilacs prefer a soil rich in organic matter, so add lots of compost to the planting bed. A 3" layer all mixed in should do just fine. They prefer a more alkaline soil, so adding some lime and mixing that into the planting bed would also be helpful. Synthetic fertilizers high in nitrogen produce lots of leaves at the expense of flowers. 2" of mulch after planting will also be good.
Here's some helpful sites.
https://spi.8m.com/care.htm
https://www.heardgardens.com/basicsforlilacs.htm
https://www.gardenersnet.com/lilac/lilac02.htm
https://gardencenter.southernstates.com/lawn_garden_faq/lilactree.shtml
Newt