My nephew has just planted 6-foot Emerald Cedars along the back portion of his fence. The problem I foresee is that an established lilac bush (10-12 feet high), in the corner between his back fence and that which divides his property from his neighbour's, will eventually cause the cedars behind it to die off. The lilac is approximately 1-2 feet away from the cedars. I wonder if cutting away most of the foliage from the bottom of the lilac and turning it into a standard (more or less) would solve the problem of having to remove either the lilac or the cedars behind it? Thank you so much for any assistance/recommendations you may provide. Veronica
I wouldn't expect a problem, lilacs aren't very dense. You could make it shorter by cutting all trunks down to 18" in winter and starting it over, lose the bloom for awhile but then end up with a more vertical (and appealing, to my eye) shrub for some years. I definitely wouldn't limb it up, don't see this helping the hedge or enhancing the lilac.