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Lilac - a shrub native to the family of olives. Today there are more than a dozen of its varieties, the most common in South-Eastern Europe. The varieties of lilacs differ in the color of the flowers and are different in accordance with the rules of care. It is very popular in Russia: people grow it on their plots, gardens and local areas. Planting lilacs is a simple procedure. The main rule is properly prepared soil, fed with special fertilizers.
Bush description
Lilac has integral opposite leaves, which fall for the winter. Flowers are pink, lilac or white. Are located in panicles, ending branches. Small calyx in the form of a bell, which has 4 teeth. Corolla of cylindrical shape, which has a four-separate bend. Lilac has two stamens that are well attached to the tube. Ovary one with a double stigma.
Today, one of the common types of lilac that is used for planting is lilac sylvestris. Such a bush has a luxurious appearance, it captivates not only beautiful flowers, but also a pleasant smell. Lilac is easy to plant, unpretentious in care, well established in the open ground.
Today, more than 10 varieties of lilac are known.
Place for planting
The best place for planting lilac will be moistened soil with neutral acidity. Lilac bushes love sunlight, so most of the time it should be under the sun.
In wetland areas such a plant does not grow, a lot of water provokes decay of the root system. If there is no other place for planting, then lilac is recommended to be planted in the hills, which are well illuminated by the sun. In the shade the plant blooms badly.
When to plant
Experienced summer residents recommend planting lilac bushes in late summer or early autumn. Thus, the seedlings will take root well and are likely to bear the winter well. The time for planting is chosen in the morning or in the evening. To plant a bush is not recommended in the scorching sun, the best time will be cloudy weather. In order to plant lilacs, prepare the soil in advance.
Preparing the lilac for planting
To properly plant a lilac, you must prepare in advance. 2-3 weeks before planting, dig deep holes - diameter about 40 cm, depth 30-45 cm. In addition, it is important to properly prepare the soil for planting. Each pit is filled with a top layer of fertile soil, into which it is necessary to add the rotted manure, peat and humus. Next, about 20 kg of organic fertilizing is applied. If the soil is acidified, 2 kg of lime should be added. Sandy soils contain little magnesium, so in such a soil lime tuff is introduced in the form of dolomite flour. Also in each hole are added mineral fertilizers:
- superphosphate - 1 kg;
- phosphorite flour - 0.3 kg;
- Potassium sulphate - 100 g;
- wood ash - 800 g.
After mixing all the fertilizers, it is necessary to introduce them into the soil so that the main part gets to the very bottom of the pit.
Planting lilacs
Having planted lilacs in the country, you can not only admire the enchanting beauty on your site, but also enjoy the pleasant aroma of its flowers. Landing can be done in the spring or closer to the autumn. Experienced summer residents recommend to plant bushes in autumn.
Before you begin the planting process, you need to inspect the root system for damage. If the root of the plant is damaged, it is cut with garden scissors. After trimming, the root must be dipped in a clay of mud and manure.
If before the planting of the lilac, the holes are not prepared, then they are filled to the middle and compacted well. Further, a small slide is made from the earth where the root of the plant is placed. It is important to guide the root system in different directions. To avoid bush penetration after soil subsidence, the root of the root is placed 5 cm above the ground level. After sprinkling the root 5 cm with a layer of fertilized soil, the pit is covered with the remaining earth, gently trampled down. Seal should be done with care, so as not to damage the root of the plant. Around the bush make a platen of earth 10-20 cm high, forming a hole for good watering. On one bush goes 20 liters of water. After the moisture has absorbed, a layer of dry soil is laid and mulching with peat - 5 cm is carried out. Planting lilac in the soil should be made according to all rules, otherwise there will be no abundant flowering.
How to care
Lilac - the plant is not whimsical, it does not require special rules in the care.
Plant shrubs are recommended early in the spring or fall. It is best to plant in September. The only important rule in the care of a plant is regular watering. Especially it concerns young bushes. Adult plants watered during a drought.
Pruning lilacs
In the spring the bush requires cutting off the dried branches, and those branches that grow inside the plant. Panicles that have already faded are also cut, but very carefully, without damaging the shoots - soon they will have new flowers. Special conditions of the maintenance of such bushes do not require, but regular watering and pruning are important rules.
If you cut off the lilacs in the fall, then the next year it may not blossom.
By mistake, you can cut off shoots with formed buds, which can trigger a bad flowering or even its absence.
Shrub formation
To properly form a bush, you need to create a foundation. The lilac bush is formed from 3-4 stem branches. In the first year, branches that grow crookedly need to be removed.
The next year, only those shoots that grow inside are cut off. Thus, the crown of a plant without voids evenly grows. After this is done, it is not recommended to trim the lilac.
Additional fertilizing
In the feeding process the plant needs, but not all. It is necessary to be careful with nitrogen and organic fertilizers, otherwise the plant will not bloom and badly suffer winter frosts.
The best fertilizer for lilac will be the introduction of complex top dressings in the spring and potassium-phosphate fertilizers after flowering. Loosening of the soil is done with caution, trying not to damage the root of the plant.
Reproduction
You can propagate lilac bushes in several ways:
- seeds;
- cuttings;
- root shoots;
- vaccination.
Reproduction by seeds
Wild lilac propagates by seed. Sowing is recommended in autumn or spring. Before planting, the inoculum passes a two-month hardening at a temperature of 2 to 5 degrees. This lilac is planted in the spring in March in boxes with well-steamed earth. The first shoots appear already on the 10th day. When leaves are formed, the plants are transplanted into seedlings. Later the seedlings are dived. After the picking, bushes are planted in May and early June.
Before planting the seeds, a hardening procedure must be performed.
Reproduction by cuttings
Lilacs of other varieties are propagated by cuttings closer to spring, and methods of grafting and tapping are also used. Cuttings are carried out at the beginning of flowering. Such a cutting should have one node and two buds. A cut is made at the bottom, before retreating 1 cm from the kidney, the lower leaves are removed.
Planting material can be treated with a growth stimulating agent. The drop is planted to a depth of 1 cm.
Reproduction by root shoots
The first shoots should be separated in the beginning of summer. Before starting to propagate by this method, the soil should be well moistened. Do the procedure better on a cloudy day, in order to avoid drying the roots. The length of such roots should not be more than 5 cm. Wet peat or sand is placed on the bottom of a special box for picking. Planted in boxes of seedlings and sprayed from the spray gun. Then the boxes go to a cool place.
Graft
Inoculation is done with a sleeping kidney or a handle. You can oculate the plant in the summer with a sleeping kidney, in the spring - which has just started to awaken. When budding for the spring cuttings should be harvested in February, and stored in the cold in small bundles wrapped in a newspaper. The survival rate of such cuttings is 80%. They will tolerate the winter well, will not be exposed to diseases.
The rootstock begins to be prepared from the middle of summer. To do this, the plants cut off the side high branches up to 15 cm and remove the shoots.
It is worth taking into account: before lining to cut lilac is not recommended, as cut off places may not have time to heal.
The thickness of the root neck of the rootstock should vary from, up to 1.5 cm. The bark of the plant should be well separated from the trunk. Therefore, a week before grafting the bush, it should be well watered.
On the day on which it is planned to dip the root of the rootstock, the place where the branch will be planted will be wiped with a wet cloth. Cuttings are prepared for budding as they mature. Good thickness of one cuttings is 3-5 mm, length about 30 cm.
These cuttings are kept in the cold for 10 days with wet moss or sawdust.
From a mature shoot you can fully recover from 10 to 15 kidneys. The best time for budding is mid-July.
Fight against diseases and insects
Like any plant - the lilac is prone to disease. One of the most dangerous for this plant are lilac moth and bacterial necrosis.
Lilac moth
The disease affects the green part of the bush - the leaves. At the beginning of the disease, they become covered with brown spots, and then curl and wither. This bush is very similar to burnt. Unfortunately, the miner moth completely kills the plant, and the next year it no longer blooms.
It is not difficult to fight the moth. For this, it is recommended to perform a preventive digging of the soil around the bush. Damaged shoots cut and burned in time.
Bacterial necrosis
Most often occurs in August. Transmission of the disease occurs through water, poor-quality planting material or by insect pests. Bacterial necrosis hibernates in the tissues of diseased branches, fallen leaves. The lilac affected by this disease has gray leaves and brown shoots. At the beginning of the disease affects the green part of the plant and up shoots, then the disease goes down.
To protect the lilac from such a disease, it is important to timely prevent pests. Also, preventive measures include the burning of fallen leaves and diseased branches of the bush. If the bush is completely affected, it is recommended that it be digged and burned, otherwise the disease will strike everything around.
Bacterial necrosis is a dangerous disease for the lilac. Do not neglect prophylactic drugs.
Lilac transplantation
Not many people know what a plant is like a lilac, it requires a transplant. In the period of active growth the bush takes from the soil all the elements necessary for it. The process of absorbing substances is quite active, even though fertilizers were introduced during planting.
It is recommended to transplant the lilac bush by the end of the summer. Adult plants that have reached the age of 2-3 years are subject to transplantation.
A pit is prepared before the transplant process. Preparation is carried out on the same principle as for planting - the soil is fertilized with mineral dressings.
The place for transplantation is recommended to choose sunny, uninhabited.
Before transplanting the bush is inspected for the presence of dry branches, which must be removed. After inspection, the bush is placed in a deep pit.
The place for transplantation must be pre-fertilized and well illuminated by the sun.
It is worth remembering: the root of the plant must be branched in different directions.
Transplanting the lilac bush promotes active growth and abundant flowering of the bush.
Lilac is a plant that is unpretentious in nursing, but requires important rules in the content. Proper care of the plant - will provide the grower with beautiful bushes in the area with abundant flowering.
