Showing posts with label lilac. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lilac. Show all posts

Saturday, May 01, 2021

Lilacs Today. 5.1.2021

 The lilacs are in full bloom today, so I took a bunch of photos.  The two with more delicate flowers are Korean lilac.  Also there's a viburnum in there, which is not a lilac.  I imagine that the lilac bush in front of the house was planted by the first owners of this house.  Last summer I pruned out all of the underbrush and left it as a kind of grouped tree.  It's more airy that way and I think nicer.














Saturday, April 24, 2021

Lilacs. 4.24.2021

 It's been raining, so some of the lilacs are droopy.  Some are very nice.  Most of these are about 20 years old.  We bought tiny lilacs at the Canby plant fair in the early 2000s, and move them to the country house about 8 years ago.  A couple of them are starts that I took from existing lilac bushes.  Those may have a more extensive history, but I don't know it.  I also planted a few more starts this Spring.








Sunday, May 05, 2019

Some Nice Flowers. 5.5.17

Laburnum.  5.5.19

White Lilac.  5.5.19

Tree Peony.  5.5.19

Bloomerang Korean Lilac.  5.5.19

Saturday, April 27, 2019

Lilacs and Camassia. 4.27.19

Lilacs that I moved to my country place a few years ago, from town. Deer sometimes munch on the lower branches but the flowers on top they are lovely and fragrant. Last photo is camassia, which do very well here and should, given that they are native.  Each bunch started as a single bulb, planted in fall.  Each year the clumps have more bulbs and more flowers than the year before.







Monday, May 08, 2017

More Lilac Blossoms. 5.8.17

 I  love this time of year.  Every day it seems something else blooms and demands attention.  Most of the lilacs are along the property's edge, intent is to have a blooming hedge when they fill in.

The  bottom photo is a lilac that was on the property when we bought it.  The bush was gigantic, with fallen over trunks several inches in diameter and around 15 feet tall.  I cut out the injured and dead  branches, and the shrub responded with vigorous, strong growth.  It's once again a massive lilac bush.  Deer don't touch it, unlike some of the newer types.




Sunday, May 07, 2017

Lilac Blossoms. 5.6.17

 These are the lilac bushes that I moved about 35 miles in Jan 2015, to the Battleground yard.  I think these bushes were about 10 years old, and very tall and heavy.  I took as much soil and root as I could.  I watered during the dry parts of summer.  All 10 of the bushes survived.  I think that's about all you can expect during the first year.  They are a bit scraggly but should fill in over the next couple of years.
 Meanwhile, we get to enjoy some flowers this year.  Deer usually don't go much for lilacs, but they ate some of the new succulent, lower growth, from these. 

The red/pink lilac is a modern Korean lilac, "Bloomerang™", promoted as reblooming and compact.  Nice flowers.   This is newer, about one year old.





Thursday, January 14, 2016

Lilacs are moved. 1.13.15

Freshly transplanted lilac bush, me, and a helper.   1.14.15
The last of the big lilacs is moved.  This was a 2 month project.  If I was young and healthy, it would be a 1 week project, but I'll take what I can get.

In the photo, the lilac doesn't look that big.  Each was a heavy load.  Fortunately I have help.

Divisions broke off from each of the last two, one with quite a bit of root mass and the other with one main root and only part of that.  So now, if they survive and grow, I have 4 bushes where I started with two.

Accidental Lilac Division with minimal root.  1.4.15
I hope they survive.  I took a large root mass with each.  All but the last two, have a thick layer of mulch.  They will get mulch over the next week.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Moving very large lilac bushes. 1.11.15

 Moving the last of the big lilac bushes.  I think we planted these in about 2004.  They are much bigger than me.  I can't reach the tops of the branches.

It's a luxury to move established shrubs from the old house to the Battleground place.  I would not, but I suspect new owners would cut most of them down.

This is the usual method, dig a trench in a large circle around the bush.  Use pruners for larger roots that extend beyond that, for a cleaner cut.   Undercut the bush, using a shovel.  Gradually sever the bush from the underlying soil, using the shovel.

We had a hedge of 8 mature Lilac bushes against the curb.  For the most part, this area will be lawn again.  The house shows up better for potential buyers, and they won't be intimidated by potential maintenance.

 We have also been moving 15 year old rose bushes, same idea.  They are less difficult, not as big, deep rooted, or heavy.

I'm leaving one lilac in a corner.  We already moved 5 of them last month.  That leaves these two.  These were the largest.

I did prune a few large stems to make up for lost roots.  According to horticulturist Linda Chalker-Scott, "It’s important to realize that roots respond to pruning in much the same way as the crown: pruning induces new growth. Roots that are pruned at transplant time, especially those that are excessively long or misshapen, will respond by generating new, flexible roots that help them establish in the landscape."  Since some of the lilac roots were wide ranging and needed to be cut, I did so using a sharp pruners.    Chalker-Scott also states, "There is no need to top-prune landscape plants if post-transplant irrigation is available...The only time transplanted materials should be pruned is to remove broken, dead, or diseased branches, or to make structural corrections to young trees."  It's hard to break that habit.  In the case of these lilacs, some branches will killed last year in the drought.  They also needed some shaping.  Old habits are hard to break.  I have plans to move a 10 foot tall ginkgo tree.  I will not prune the top of that tree.

It is interesting to observe the root ball.  The roots did not extend deeper than about 18 inches.  They did extend horizontally, but it seemed that the thickest mass of roots as within 2 feet of the bush.  Good thing.  The soil is heavy.

I hope we have not killed these nice shrubs.  If we did, at least we tried to move them, and they would likely have been cut down in their original locations.  If they survive, they will be a nice, mature hedge the first year, and may bloom the first or second years.

Sunday, April 26, 2015

Colors today. 4.26.15

Meadowfoam.  Limnanthes douglasii  4.26.15

Mountain Ash.  Sorbus aucuparia.  4.26.15

Ning's flowers.   4.26.15

Shan Xha.  Crataegus pinnatifida.  4.27.15

Ning's Tree Peony.  4.27.15

Crimson Maple.  4.27.15

Viburnum opulus "Sterile".  4.27.15

Camassia
Lilac "Bloomerang"

Meadowfoam.  Limnanthes douglasii


Mulberry "Illinois Everbearing"

Persimmon "Saijo"