Lilac cuttings

[hendi_alex]

Last year I noticed a neglected lilac in the middle of a thicket of volunteer trees in my daughter's overgrown yard. The house was a repo and the we are just now getting the yard under control. Anyway, the lilac produced the most lovely light blue flowers. This year I decided to get a sideshoot from the bush or to make some cuttings.

So far have only taken the cuttings. I removed a branch and threw it in the back of the pickup and drove three hours home on the very warm day. Got home and forgot about the branch until the next day. At that point, placed peat moss in a deep contain, cut the branch up into short four or five in pieces, leaving only a leaf or two on the top portion. Dipped the twigs into rooting hormone, placed them in the peat moss, and covered the container with clear plastic.

So far the results are unbelievable. Every twig, 100%, has new green growth and seems to be doing well. If I can get these cuttings to survive, it will still require some luck, as my daughter is about 120 miles north of us in N.C., zone 7. So the likelihood of this lilac growing and blooming is a long shot. Still am excited about the early success.

If nothing else, this would seem to indicate to me that lilacs cuttings are very easy to root in the spring time.

[jake]

Very interesting.
I used to make cuttings and root lilacs.
Never tried it this way, used whole branches.
Like to know how it turns out.
please keep us posted.

[hendi_alex]

I started the cutting about two weeks ago. Most had no foilage. Here is how they look today. Most have new foilage emerging.

[BumbleBrie]

Hi everyone!

I did something really stupid yesterday that could ruin my new Lilac before I even had a chance to see her bloom. While I was cleaning the dead leaves out of one of my beds yesterday I cut my JR Lilac that had arrived from Michigan Bulb late in the fall. I was planning to plant it on the opposite end of the bed from my Miss Kim Lilace and as I hadn't gotten a proper spot prepared for it in time last year, I planted it in a temproary spot next to my Rose of Sharon, in the spot where I had pulled another Lilac out to give to my brother. It was only a few inches tall and had a few buds on it that made it look like she was off to a good start and would do well for me this year and I snipped almost the entire thing off, leaving only about an inch out of the ground and a fresh cutting that is 75% of the entire plant, EEK! I soaked it in water for about an hour and then dipped it in some Clonex gel and placed it in a Rapid Rooter cube. Do I have any hope at getting such a young cutting to root and is there ANYTHING I can do for the poor little "stump" left in the ground on the original plant? I live in zone 5, we've had some 70 degree days here but in the past couple of weeks it went back down into the 20's and 30's, so the ground has thawed but we're still seeing some really cold nights here. Should I keep the cutting that's in the Rapid Rooter inside where it's warm in a sunny window or put it back outside since it's used to the temperatures? Should I also leave that poor little "stump" where it is or bring it in to nurse it back to health? If I bring both/either inside when should I consider moving back out to its new home? When I cut it off it was nice and green in the middle, so it looked like it was going to do well, but I'd love to have some sort of a happy ending for both "sides of the stick." ANY advice on what to do with both pieces would be VERY greatly appreciated. If anyone is interested in some Rose of Sharon seeds from this poor Lilacs neighborhood, I have several of the Aphrodite variety.

[hendi_alex]

I think that there is a good chance that the cut portion will root. I would cut it into sections however, so that there is not too much top growth draining the plant until roots form. Perhaps put the cuttings under some kind of moisture retaining tent or cap and place in indirect light or filtered light. I can't believe that the part of the plant in the ground will have any trouble putting back out. Just mark the plant with a post or other marker so that is doesn't get cut again.

[BumbleBrie]

Thank you so much for the advice and the great news! I kept the cutting inside and the buds have immediately turned green, so I don't think I killed it but I could have sped up the bloom process. I hope that doesn't throw its internal calendar off too much. Even if the top portion that I have in the rooting cube is only about 3 inches, you still think I should divide it? If so, thank you, I definitely wouldn't have thought to do that and it will give me more than one of them.

Thanks so much!

[hendi_alex]

Three to four inches seems about right for a single cutting.

[Runningtrails]

It is my experience that you can't kill a lilac The little bush will just grow back from the roots.

I am glad to know that cuttings are that easy to root! I have access to a lot of lilac varieties and so will take a few cuttings from each and see how it goes. Thanks for the info!