ronny
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Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 11:38 am
Location: Loveland CO

Pruning/Hedging - Not blooming

I have read several of the postings on Lilacs not blooming. My 4 lilacs are on the side of the driveway and we keep them hedged. Mostly trimmed in the spring about this time of year the area that they are in is filled with rock and is not excessable to add dirt or compost etc. The lilacs are 9 years old and ever since we planted them we hav only received about 3 blooms each year. I know that it takes a while for them to mature, but I am now starting to get a little worried that I will never get blooms. Is it likely that because we Hedge ours at 5 feet every spring after bloom that it is keeping it from blooming next year. I'm pretty sure we are not cutting off the buds because we never hedge after May. Any suggestions?

Thank full
Ronny

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rainbowgardener
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Location: TN/GA 7b

You are still might be cutting off all the buds. The lilac sets buds in late summer for next year's blooms. Any time you prune it after about August until it blooms again, you cut off the buds. Spring is the wrong time. Lilacs should only be pruned right AFTER they bloom, from then until EARLY summer.

Otherwise, another possibility is if they are near a lawn that gets fertilized, they could be getting too much nitrogen. Lawn fertilizers are high nitrogen because you want big "leaf" growth. But for the lilac it encourages leafy growth at the expense of flowering.

They definitely should have been blooming by now. Are they in full sun?

ronny
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Posts: 2
Joined: Sun May 20, 2012 11:38 am
Location: Loveland CO

I only hedge no later then the end of May so I don't think I am cutting off the buds. The three blooms I did get this spring have come and gone. I did go buy some organic 5-5-5 fertilizer. See how that works. I got the 5-5-5 because it is suppose to be more easily absorbed by the plants. I'm going to attempt to post a pic, but it doesn't seem to be very easy to do. the lilacs are very green and viberant. I just don't understand why it isn't blooming by now. It is not in a grassy area so that shouldn't be the problem. The lilacs are in full sun we are south facing which it gets a lot of sun. we also have an undergrown spring that runs under us so I think it gets enough water. It gets plenty of water durning the winter because we shovel all the snow in the area of the lilas.



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cynthia_h
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[url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=23]Helpful Gardener's Tips for New Members[/url], one of which is how to post photos here.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9



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