I have a five year old lilac tree no blooms yet and am wondering when is the best time for pruneing/ I am trying to get some height to the tree so it does not over take my walk way what would be the best way to do the pruneing? and when can I expect it to start blooming? Thanks all
Prune right after blooming. If pruned at any other time, the next years flowering area will be removed, and no blooms next year is the result. Blooms next year occur on the new flowering shoots formed this year. This is similar to forsythia. I know by minor bitter experience.
Thanks for the advice but I do not know when the blooming stops on this tree as it has no blooms at all it is 3 -4 years old..is there a way i can prune it without knowing what not to cut off to insure I am not gonna cut the blooming area off?
Quite frankly I don't know for sure. If the bush is out of control I would prune as required and not worry about blooming next year. In other words take your chances. I only use to prune the dead blooms on a yearly basis. One time I did prune heavily and it returned to full vigour after probably two years. Maybe another more expert person can offer some pointers.
Expecting a 5-year old lilac to flower, is like expecting a 5-year old girl to have a baby. It's too young. It needs several more years. Be patient! And never prune lilacs - they flower on mature wood; pruning removes the mature wood, and thereby stops flowering for several years until new wood becomes mature enough again to start flowering. I've seen a lilac get pruned, and it was 7 years before it flowered again.
Do you fertilize your lilacs? We were told by someone in Sask. if you want lilacs to bloom, do not fertilize. Try that, it might work for next spring.
