Content

• Steps
• Advice
• Warning
• What you need

Brightly colored and fragrant lilac flowers are easy to grow in most regions. Whether it's a shrub or a small tree, cloves need regular pruning to keep their shape and size right. To prune lilacs, start in the spring: cut fresh cut flowers for decorative bouquets, cut off the longest branches and prune weak branches at the base. Avoid pruning in the summer or fall, as this can inhibit the plant's growth.

Steps

Part 1 of 2: Annual pruning

1. 

   Cut fresh flowers in the spring. When the lilac flowers reach their full glory and are about to enter a fading period, cutting the flowers to form a bouquet of flowers indoors can help the plant. If left on a branch, the flower will die but will continue to suck up the sap of the plant that was supposed to be for new shoots. So don't feel sorry or upset when you go out to the garden with pruning scissors in hand to cut the best flowers - you are doing the right thing for your plants.
   • This type of pruning is also known as cut flowers. In addition to cutting the flowers right after they bloom at their best, cut off dead flowers.
   • Cut just below the calyx.
   • You can disinfect tools before pruning to avoid spreading lilac dust just by wiping them with a disinfectant spray or rubbing alcohol.

2. 

   
   
   Cut back on long branches. Observe the lilac bush and see if there are branches that look healthy but are too long to be trimmed. This can help the tree maintain its good shape. The process of pruning is also known as trimming. You can use shears to cut longer branches, close to the nearest pair of buds.
   • This means pruning the branches outside of the blooming part and cutting to where the lateral buds come out.
   • If a long branch without lateral shoots grows near the base of the tree, cut to the nearest eye or bud where new shoots will grow.
   • Trimming will encourage the lilac to sprout new, healthy and lush buds near the cut site.

3. 

   
   
   Prune trees. Check for dead or diseased branches. If you find thin branches that turn brown, or diseased branches in bushes or lilac trees, cut them close to the base. This process is called pruning, and it benefits the plant by allowing better air circulation and by removing the dying foliage that absorbs the plant's nutrients.

4. 

   
   
   Don't prune too late in the summer or fall. The annual pruning should be done during spring (May or June in the northern hemisphere, around September to October in the southern hemisphere). Pruning is a way to stimulate new growth of the plant, and these buds will develop throughout the year before flowering in spring. However, if done too late in the summer, you run the risk of cutting these new shoots off - and next spring there will be less blooming flowers.
   • If you prune in the fall or winter, your lilac tree may not bloom at all.
   advertisement

Part 2 of 2: Lilac rejuvenation

1. 

   Tree reviews. If the tree is old, overgrown, or out of balance, pruning to rejuvenate the tree will make the plant healthier and more beautiful. This type of pruning is "more aggressive" than lighter annual pruning, allowing the tree to grow new shoots.
   • Examine your plant in early spring, before it returns to growth. This is the best time of the year for a stronger pruning.
   • Remember that pruning to rejuvenate the plant will take away mature buds that may bloom the following spring. But if you sacrifice this flowering season, you will be rewarded in the following seasons with new buds and more beautiful flowers.

2. 

   Determine if your lilac tree is a grafted plant. Some lilac trees are laced with other cultivars to create flowers of distinctive shapes and colors. Grafted trees need extra care when pruning, as cutting below the grafted site disturbs the grafted branches and changes plant growth. Look at one of the main trunks of a lilac tree for a distinctly different spot on the bark, near a raised lump. This is probably a graft. If you don't see this, your lilac may not be grafted, and you don't need to pay attention when pruning.

3. 

   Use pruning scissors to cut plants close to the ground. You may need a saw if the trunk is too large. Cut 1/3 or 1/2 of the length of each branch. The lilac tree will grow again, but it will take a season or two.
   • If you find that your lilac tree is a grafted plant, don't cut it underneath the grafted eye.

4. 

   Prune the suckling root. Suck-root shoots are saplings that grow from a parent plant or grow from nearby soil. Cut these tips to the base of the tree or the ground to prevent them from growing. These shoots take away the plant's nutrients. A healthy lilac bush or lilac tree should have no more than 2 or 3 large stems.

5. 

   Fertilize after pruning. If the lilac tree has just been pruned heavily, you should fertilize the plant after pruning to restore the pH balance in the soil. You can use compost, manure, or a mixture of fertilizer around the plant to help the plant recover. advertisement

Advice

• If you see one flower die earlier than the flowers on the other branches, cut off the dead flower from the other flowers. This will help the plant to bloom next year.
• As soon as the flowers bloom, start the pruning process by cutting off a few flowers for indoor decorations.
• Fence pruning scissors are just as effective as tree clippers, but using hedge clippers can make the tree look less beautiful because of over-trimmed.

Warning

• Don't remove too many branches. A general rule of thumb is to cut off about a third of the branches and keep a balance in removing old and new branches. Old branches will give flowers, so keep plenty of branches around. However, pruning all of the new branches will result in a situation where the plant will not flower in the future.

What you need

• Pruning scissors
• Small garden saws or hand saws
• Garden gloves