You've all been so helpful...hope you can help again. I have a beautiful double white lilac about 4 years old. After it bloomed two years ago, I VERY carefully pruned off the spent flower heads, being careful not to take off the two side shoots which I expected would be next year's blooms. Well, the following year, I had NO flowers at all. Very disappointing. This year I had a fantastic bloom! I want to remove the dead flower heads, but I don't want a repeat of the year of no blooms. Can you please instruct me as to the proper deadheading technique for deadheading lilacs? Also...are there any lilacs that only bloom every two years? Thanks for any help. Marian Weiss
i don't know if there are varieties that only bloom every other year. doesn't seem likely. what probably happened was that you pruned off the newly formed buds. they're usually pretty small and can be easy to miss. they look like small bumbs/nubs on the branch.
I think I was so careful not to do that. Do the new buds form on the same stalk as the old bloom? I was thinking that they would form on the two side shoots that are the base of the bloom. Marian
Deadheading isn't mandatory....you could try one half deadheaded and the other half not? Some lilacs do alternate years with flowering...good years & not so good years. Not usually an all or none thing though.
