Newbie that cannot figure out what's wrong with my lilac...

[NewbieGardner]

I have a lilac bush in my front yard. I have not even lived in my home for a year and am just starting out with gardening and lawn care, etc.. I have some beautiful branches on my lilac bush and then other branches either have not grown any leaves or there are some that are turning black. Then there is some kind of green powdery looking stuff on the bark in some areas. I tried to do searches to figure out what it is and how I can treat it but I'm still confused as to what this is and how to help my lilac bush.

Any insight is appreciated!

[NewbieGardner]

Should I have posted this on another board?

[cynthia_h]

Sorry no one's responded to you yet; is it possible for you to post a photo of the affected tree? See

https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3724

for steps on posting photos. Please also give the general area where you live: New England? Old Midwest (OH, IN, IL, KY)? Prairie Midwest?

I have no experience with lilacs; I've never lived where they grow happily.

I hope that the combination of photo + region will produce good advice.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

[NewbieGardner]

Thanks for responding. I will take some photos tomorrow. It's dark now, so I don't think that would be a good idea. I am from Indianapolis, IN, which is in the midwest.

[hendi_alex]

I know very little about lilacs, but if the bush was mine, I would immediately prune off any wood that appears blackened and infected, trimming down to clean healthy looking wood and giving a good margin past any bad wood. Later you can find out about any kind of spray or other routine that you may use to help prevent the problem in the future.

[NewbieGardner]

Alex,

Thanks for your reply. I have trimmed off some of the dead branches. I will double check tomorrow if I cut them far enough down on the branches. I don't know much about pruning.

Take care,
NG