How to Prune Lilacs

Hello, my friend, hello again; today we come together to talk about How to Prune Lilacs and hope the blog can help you.

If your aging lilac appears lackluster, cut it a break by pruning out its oldest growth to restore its youthful luster.

When considering how to prune lilacs, keep in mind that those shrubs reportedly flower better on newer wood, so you can do them a favor by removing some of the oldest canes. But “newer” is a relative term. Blooms usually don’t appear on wood younger than 3 years old, while 5- to 8-year-old canes generally produce the most flowers.

Therefore, your lilac bush care routine needn’t include pruning for a young shrub, except the deadheading of faded flowers and removal of dead or broken branches. However, once the lilac reaches 6 feet or so in height, it might appreciate rejuvenation pruning.

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When to Prune Lilac Bushes for Regular Maintenance

If you are debating on when to prune lilacs, the simple answer is that they should be pruned within 2 weeks after they finish blooming in spring. Cutting at any other time of year would be a mistake, since it’s during summer that lilac bushes begin making buds, which persist over winter for the next spring’s bloom.

However, should you prefer to prune when the plant is free of foliage, you can do so in late winter, even though you’ll be removing potential flowers that way. No matter which trimming option you choose, follow the steps below to learn how to prune a lilac bush.