Pruning old lilacs after flowering. Pruning garden lilacs in autumn - why and how to do it

A bush of blooming lilac is a luxurious decoration for any summer cottage! At first glance, it seems that the plant does not need special care. Indeed, lilac is unpretentious, but requires some care and attention.

Correct fitlilac

It is advisable to plant lilacs either in sunny areas or in light partial shade. The plant cannot be placed in the shade.

The planting hole should be deep, with rotted loose soil. The plant does not tolerate close groundwater, so low areas are unsuitable for it. It is better to plant lilacs either in early spring, or at the end of summer - beginning of autumn, September is most suitable for this. If you decide to start planting in the spring, then buy seedlings in a container so that it is closed root system. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the lilac will not take root well or will die.

After you have planted the shrub, be sure to water it. You can add any drug that stimulates root formation to the water for irrigation. It is advisable to cover the top layer of soil with hay with a layer of 6-8 cm, which will protect the soil from drying out and weeds, and then, turning into humus, will be food for lilacs.
This plant can grow in one place for a long time, sometimes its entire life.

Caring for lilacs after flowering

1. Lilacs need regular pruning. In the 3rd year, the bush has strong, numerous shoots. They will subsequently form skeletal branches.
2. Exactly pruning after flowering determines how well the plant will bloom.
3. Lilac responds favorably to fertilizers. Every spring the bushes need to be fed with nitrogen. Feeding from ash is well absorbed and organic fertilizers during the formation of buds, during flowering.
4. It is better to apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers in the fall once every 2-3 years. They are placed on top of the soil under the lilac, followed by digging. This is done due to the fact that part of the root system of the shrub is located in top layer soil. The best fertilizer considered to be rotted manure (horse and cow).
5. Remember, fertilizing for lilacs is necessary, but you should not get carried away with nitrogen fertilizers, including organic ones, because of them the plant will bloom poorly and be more difficult to tolerate frosts.

How to prune lilacs after flowering?

• In early spring, select 6-10 strong shoots on the bush that are furthest apart and create the outline of the plant. Cut off the remaining branches, and cut out the small ones directed inside the crown completely, and shorten the stronger ones a little.
• Such thinning and sanitary pruning of lilacs must be carried out every spring, when the buds have already begun to grow.
• Pruning is mandatory, otherwise the shoots under the faded flower clusters will weaken. Therefore, as soon as the lilac fades, it should be pruned. The sooner you do this, the better the new shoots will develop and the flowering will be especially lush.

• It should be borne in mind that pruning sometimes causes the bush to bloom after a year. Lilacs are formed with pruning shears, and large branches are cut down. The cut areas must be covered with paint.
• The basic principle of pruning is to remove all small branches. They do not bloom and can take a lot of energy from the plant.
• If the branch has small and thin shoots, you need to remove it completely. Inflorescences must be removed immediately after flowering (only inflorescences without branches are removed).
• Never break off a bush; this will damage the buds, which will not bloom next year.
• All shoots need to be removed, leaving only healthy shoots that will replace the old ones in the future.
• To care for lilacs during flowering, you need to cut branches from abundantly flowering bushes.
• After the plant has finished blooming, all dry inflorescences must be carefully cut off.
• Be sure to carry out sanitary pruning in spring and autumn with the removal of diseased and drying branches growing inside the bush of shoots. Don't forget about formative pruning, in which you need to make sure that the kidneys remain.
• Before you cut and place flowers in a vase, you need to know some tricks to lush inflorescences delighted you longer with their aroma and beauty:
• Freshen up the slant cuts by making new ones with a sharp knife under water. The best way- crush the ends of the shoots with a hammer.
• It is better to cut lilacs from young bushes than from old ones.
• Add a little citric or acetic acid (but not sugar) to the water in which the lilac bouquet stands.
• To keep the inflorescences in the bouquet longer, significant part leaves must be removed.

Lilac, like other tree-like shrubs, needs annual crown correction. Dried shoots, fading inflorescences, skeletal branches, layering and shoots inhibit vegetative processes inside the plant and negatively affect its general condition. In this regard, gardeners carry out annual pruning of lilacs after flowering, in the fall, and also in early spring.

Branches after flowering

Perform pruning garden lilac possible all year round. It is better to plan sanitary procedures for the spring before the buds open. Before flowering begins, you should refrain from adjusting the crown height so as not to remove flower buds. If a lilac develops a lot of inflorescences, some of them can be removed to prolong the flowering of the bush.

It is not recommended to carry out more than 3 lilac haircuts per season.

Not everyone can prune lilacs correctly, although it also poses certain difficulties. After the perennial blooms, it is enough to remove only the faded panicles so that they do not take over some of the nutrients for seed ripening. Moreover, 10% of the inflorescences are left so as not to disturb the vegetative processes of the bush.

Haircuts are not carried out later than August, trees thinned in autumn do not bear inflorescences the following season. You can prune lilacs in the fall only for sanitary purposes. Between September and November, parts of the crown affected by the fungus are removed. In this case, saving the bush from death is a priority to its fruiting.

Types of pruning before and after flowering

Flowers, trees and shrubs are business card any area. Well-groomed plants can improve even the most unsightly area. While dense, diseased shrubs not only weigh down the plant composition, but pose a threat to other ornamental and fruit and berry crops. Regular pruning will help protect the plant from overgrowing.

There are several technologies for clearing green matter from a bush. The choice of one of them is carried out taking into account the time of year, the age of the bush, and its condition.

Sanitary annual clean crown

The work boils down to freeing the perennial from infected, frostbitten and shriveled branches. Sagging and dried shoots are usually removed in early spring before the buds open to prevent damage to the trunks by fungi and pests. Sanitation work also includes removing inflorescences after flowering.

Sanitary cutting is not always tied to calendar work in the garden. In the event of an invasion of pests or damage to the crown by bacteria, the diseased part is cut out completely, regardless of the work carried out previously. So as not to be left without blooming garden, take into account roses, peonies, hydrangeas and other perennials.

Thinning pruning

This is a type of pruning in which lateral shoots and layering are cut off from a formed bush.

The following branches are removed from the plant:

Formative pruning in the first, second and subsequent years

When carrying out such a haircut, the bush is given the desired shape and parameters. In park compositions there are both bush and standard specimens of lilac. The first option is considered the most common.

The most interesting and time-consuming is cutting lilacs after transplanting into open ground. Not all gardeners know when to prune young lilacs, so the plant develops spontaneously in the first few years. This approach negatively affects the growth and formation of the bush in the future.

• How to prune in the first year?

Immediately after planting in open ground, all shoots longer than one and a half meters are cut off from the seedling. Shoots and cuttings are removed so that the plant takes root better. 1 month after planting, plot owners can begin to form a crown. For development, 3-4 (bush form) or 1 (standard form) trunk are selected. The remaining shoots are removed. On spreading bushes, 5-6 stems are left.

If there are few branches and they are weak, then the formation of new ones can be stimulated by short cutting of the growth. The shoots left as skeletal shoots are shortened by 1/3, forming an attractive crown.

• What to plan for the second and third years?

It is necessary to cut out growth directed inside the crown, as well as weak branches. Annual shoots are shortened to half.

Lilacs are pruned annually

• Fourth and subsequent years

From 4 years to 8 years with proper care For lilacs, thinning will be enough for her. At 9 years old, the plant is prepared for its first rejuvenating haircut.

Sometimes the top is cut off so that the whole lilac bushes. In this case, no more than 1/5 of the height of the bush is removed.

A favorable time for manipulation is spring, before the sap begins to flow. In summer, you can also thin out the crown, breaking out the shoots before they are covered with wood.

Bush or standard tree?

Lilac can grow as a compact tree or wide shrub, forming annually root shoots. If the crop is given the opportunity to develop independently, then over time it will turn into an overgrown shrub consisting of many stems of different ages. In the center there will be old stems with peeling bark. Lichens, mosses, and pests readily take root on them, causing damage to the entire plant.

Another scenario is also possible - in those varieties that do not form shoots, the only trunk ages. If measures are not taken in a timely manner, the plant will grow old and die. Approaches to formation should be different, in each case you will have to take into account varietal characteristics perennial

It makes no sense to try to form a standard from an overgrown bush or vice versa. Approaches to shaping should vary.

The initial stage of forming a standard tree consists of shortening a one-year-old seedling to a height equal to the desired size of the standard, plus 3-4 pairs of developed buds. From the shoots that grow from the left buds, a crown is subsequently formed according to the principle of a bush plant. In the future, you will have to promptly remove branches formed below the crown.

Video about forming a lilac trunk.

When to start rejuvenation?

Anti-aging pruning is cleaning the crown in order to prolong the life of the bush and improve flowering. During this process, the gardener selects the oldest trunks and cuts them into stumps. The renewed crown is formed from young shoots that were selected and preserved during previous cleanings of the plant. Partial anti-aging pruning involves removing lignified skeletal branches.

Rejuvenating cleaning is carried out to stimulate the growth of new shoots. In the next growing season, the plant will not bloom, since all flowering buds from last year will be removed. Before carrying out the planned event, gardeners determine the availability of vaccination. If it is detected, all parts of the plant located at the same level or below the graft are saved.

Upon reaching 12 years of age, flowering becomes sparse and the inflorescences become smaller, so gentle rejuvenation is best started when the shrub is 9 years old. By cutting off 2-3 old shoots per season, the lilac will always look well-groomed without compromising flowering.

Do I need to prune the inflorescences after they wilt?

If the owner is not interested in the ripening of the seed pods, it is recommended to remove the faded panicles, as they absorb a significant amount of nutrients.

When the first flowers appear on the lilac, they can be cut into bouquets. It is forbidden to break branches, since split wood is difficult to restore. Flowering next year will not be as abundant as usual. This is explained by the fact that the shoots on which future flower buds will form are located next to the inflorescences and are destroyed along with them.

To cut panicles into a bouquet without losing next year’s flower buds, you can cut only the brushes themselves, or the brushes together with the “slingshot” - the place where 2 inflorescences join together with an allowance of 5-6 cm.

Haircut rules

To work you will need a set of gardening tools:

• pruner;
• gardening scissors;
• penknife;
• electrical tape, resin or garden pitch;
• twine;
• gloves.

At the initial stage, a visual diagnosis of the bush is carried out. Trunks, branches and shoots that will subsequently be cut off are noted. At the same time, you need to remember that you cannot remove more than 20% of the crown at a time.

What mistakes beginner gardeners make are discussed in the video.

Too long branches are shortened first by 2/4. The cut is made at an angle of 45% and covered with garden varnish to prevent infections from penetrating under the bark. After this, the bush is thinned out to remove wilted, deformed and broken branches. They are cut to the very base of the trunk. Bare areas are wrapped with electrical tape or agrofibre.

When working with intertwined branches and closely spaced trunks, use twine. With its help, parts of the crown are fixed in such a way that individual shoots do not interfere with the gardener’s work. The trunks are cut to a stump, i.e. at the very base, the wound is covered with garden varnish. If the volume of cut material does not exceed 15% of the total mass of the crown, gardeners begin pinching out weak branches and young growth.

After the procedure is completed, the twine is cut off, and the crown takes on its previous appearance. The cut material must be disposed of immediately. Branches thrown near a bush provoke the development of putrefactive processes.

Lilacs can be grown in almost any region, however, in order for the bush to be healthy and bloom profusely every year, it must be well cared for. One of the most important points in caring for lilacs is pruning, and we will share with you information about whether it is possible to prune lilacs in the spring or is it better to do it at another time, how to prune lilacs correctly, whether it is necessary to prune lilacs after flowering, how to prune old lilacs and how Rejuvenating pruning of lilacs is carried out.

When can you prune lilacs?

Lilacs need to be pruned every year, but depending on the purpose of pruning, it is carried out in different time. In early spring, before sap flows through the branches and the garden awakens from winter dormancy, thinning is carried out and sanitary cleaning . At the same time, they also carry out anti-aging pruning lilac.

Lilac blooms with proper pruning

Form a crown It is best to plant a shrub immediately after flowering has completed. Then you can carry out sanitary cleaning, thin out the crown and rejuvenate the plant.

Pruning lilacs in spring

In early spring, you need to remove numerous shoots, cut out all frostbitten, dry, broken, crooked and blackened branches and shoots. Old gnarled branches and weak last year's shoots from the central part of the crown are also removed. There is no need to shorten good branches and shoots: along with the tips of the shoots, you risk getting rid of flower buds.

If you have a grafted lilac, remove all the shoots that the rootstock has formed, otherwise the growing shoots will drown out the varietal shoots.

Is it possible to prune lilacs during flowering?

When lilacs bloom, it is customary to cut branches from them for bouquets. Do not break, but rather cut: after breaking, disfigured ends of branches with stripped bark remain, which disfigure the entire bush and can be affected by pests. During flowering, partial sanitary pruning is also carried out: branches that shade other plants or interfere with walking are removed.

Scheme for pruning lilacs after flowering

Sanitary pruning

When the flowering of the lilac is over, you need to cut off all the drying inflorescences before they begin to set seeds: the formation and ripening of seeds takes a lot of strength and nutrition from the bush, and you are unlikely to need seed material for propagating lilacs: it is better to propagate lilacs vegetatively, because when Generative propagation does not preserve the varietal characteristics of the plant. You need to cut off the wilted inflorescences as close to the first pair of leaves as possible.

After this, you can shorten some of the shoots to improve the shape of the crown.

Formative pruning

Lilacs are formed from the age of three. When growing lilacs bush-shaped you need to leave three or four of the most developed shoots directed towards different sides from the center. All shoots that cross and shade each other need to be cut out, as well as constantly appearing shoots. When the formation of the bush is completed, you need to thin out the lilac every season, remove shoots that interfere with flowering, and shorten those that violate the outline of the crown.

Lilac on a trunk , that is, in the form of a tree, looks impressive and unusual. The process of growing such lilacs is long, labor-intensive and difficult, but several varieties of lilac can be grafted onto one standard, and if you do everything correctly, the result will be phenomenal.

In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, select a lilac shoot more than a meter high, trim the roots around it within a radius of 20 cm, and cut out the remaining shoots and shoots with pruning shears. At the very beginning of sap flow, you need to graft cuttings of the lilac varieties you like to the top of the shoot using the “butt” or “cut” method, and pluck out all the buds that appear on the rootstock. But if you plan to graft other varietal cuttings in the future, leave 3-4 buds in the upper part of the trunk just in case: cuttings of different varieties can be grafted onto the shoots that grow from them.

At the end of summer standard tree dig with a pitchfork along with big lump ground, and the white roots that grow horizontally underground and produce shoots are cut into a ring. The seedling is lowered into the prepared hole, covered with an earthen ball with a layer of weathered peat or old humus 5-10 cm thick, after which the planting hole is filled with soil, the surface is compacted and watered abundantly. When the water is absorbed, the tree trunk circle is mulched with a layer of sawdust, and the mulch is covered with black film on top during rooting.

Lilac blossom

The first two years you need to carefully loosen the soil under the mulch, and then you will have to regularly fight the emerging root shoots. In addition, you need to deal with the formation of the crown: pinch the tops to stimulate branching, and cut the shoots growing inside the crown into rings.

Rejuvenating lilac pruning

An old, overgrown bush can be rejuvenated. This procedure differs from other types of pruning in that it involves radical thinning of the bush: only stumps about 40 cm high remain from the plant, and it is advisable to remove shoots with severely cracked bark at the root. Don’t be afraid to act radically: in place of the old branches, the plant will grow new ones in 2-3 years, which will give new inflorescences.

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Lilac is one of the favorite shrubs of the peoples of Russia, decorating the landscape of almost everyone with its beauty. garden plot. Lush fragrant blooms and an intoxicating aroma are the main characteristics of this shrub. But so that the lilac bushes for a long time were a truly magnificent sight, it is necessary to provide the plants with proper care. One of the elements of agricultural technology is pruning.

Types of pruning

The state of vegetative processes inside the plant is negatively affected by the presence of dried shoots, excessive growth, wilted inflorescences, layering, since the root system will not cope with the full development of inflorescences and the nutrition of the entire bush.

To improve the health and formation of the crown of bushes, annual, rejuvenating, thinning and formative pruning of lilacs is used. Its goal is to form a beautiful, healthy bush to obtain abundant lush flowering.

Annual

Annual pruning of lilac bushes is carried out mainly for sanitary purposes. Every year in the fall you need to carefully inspect the bushes and trim off all crooked shoots growing inside the bush, broken shoots affected by lichen. It is better not to do this kind of revision of the bushes in the spring, so as not to damage the flower buds. Bushes pruned in autumn will be well prepared for winter season. Many gardeners choose autumn annual pruning. But autumn term annual pruning is an ambiguous statement.

This procedure can be done in early spring, when the movement of sap in the plants has not yet begun.

Rejuvenating

Old lilac bushes over 10 years old, even with proper care, become ugly, lose their shape, and bloom poorly. Such bushes undergo anti-aging pruning. All branches that are on the plant are trimmed so that their height from the ground surface is no more than 40 cm. As a result, only stumps will remain in place of the bush. Naturally, such a bush will not bloom in the next year or two. At first, the bush looks very unsightly, but you shouldn’t regret it: it successfully recovers in 2-3 years.

Properly carried out anti-aging pruning is a guarantee of preservation beautiful bush and its luxurious flowering.

Thinning

Young lilac bushes do not need pruning only for the first two years after planting. They grow very quickly, so you constantly need to monitor the density of the crown and the shape of the bushes so that they do not turn into untidy thickets. When thinning, one should not forget that no more than 1/3 of all branches can be removed, while observing optimal ratio young and woody branches on which flower buds are formed, so that in the future young shoots will replace the old ones. Thinning pruning allows you to prevent excessive thickening of the crown by removing lateral shoots and layering.

Untamed root shoots are cut completely flush with the ground.

Formative

This is the most important type of pruning. The method and scheme of formative pruning depends on what result is expected to be obtained: a bush or a standard (tree), so the choice must be made before the pruning time. The formation of the bush begins 2–3 years after planting. The bush becomes fully formed after a few years.

A uniform spherical bush is formed according to the classical pattern. When pruning a young bush for the first time, 3-4 of the strongest shoots are left for the first time, strictly ensuring that the direction of the skeletal branches is in different directions from the center: only in this way will the shape of the bush be expectedly correct. If two skeletal branches are located very close and grow in the same direction, you should immediately get rid of one of them, leaving the stronger one. Shoots that cross and interfere with each other also need to be removed.

All branches left after the first pruning are shortened by almost half, trying as much as possible to leave them approximately the same length to ensure the formation of a lush and even bush.

In the second year of formation, the skeletal branches need to be shortened again, and the strongest of the side branches should be left. In the third year they do the same as in the second. In subsequent years, the formation of the crown is carefully monitored and, if necessary, appropriate corrective measures are taken in a timely manner.

The lilac on the trunk is a neat, well-groomed tree. Formation of such a crown not an easy process, so novice gardeners rarely choose it for fear of not being able to cope. During the first pruning (in the third year after planting), all branches from below are completely cut out so that the main trunk is free. During the season, all newly growing shoots must also be removed from this trunk. In the first two years, you will have to fight the emerging shoots and cut out all the runs growing inside the trunk. In the fourth year, the height of the trunk is already sufficient. To stop the growth of the tree in height, the tops of the bush are pinched. The bush will begin to grow on the sides and become wider and more lush. Such a shrub will look beautiful in various landscape compositions: along a path, on a lawn, in a flower bed.

Required Tools

When thinning lilac bushes, cutting flowers into bouquets and removing faded inflorescences, you should never break off branches and old flower stalks without using tools, since broken wood is difficult to restore, moisture gets into the crevice and the branch begins to rot. Pruning must be done with ordinary garden tools:

• pruning shears (for thin branches);
• garden hacksaw (for thick trunks);

Secateurs

Garden hacksaw

• lopper (for cutting knots);
• garden scissors (for cutting inflorescences).

Lopper

Gardening scissors

The main condition is that the instruments must be safe, sharp and sterilely clean. so that during gardening work do not infect the bushes with plant infections and do not introduce pest larvae. Always have gloves and string on hand. The cut areas should be treated with garden pitch or resin, or you can also use oil paint, drying oil or brilliant green.

How to do it correctly?

View of heavily overgrown unhealthy bushes in landscape composition presents an unsightly picture. In addition, they pose a threat to the comfortable existence of other plantings on the site. When choosing a pruning method, you should take into account the time of year, the age of the bush and what condition it is in. It is advisable to carry out all activities for pruning lilacs in cloudy weather in order to avoid sunburn pruned shoots. There are certain schemes and rules that, if followed, will allow long time keep lilac bushes healthy and highly decorative.

in spring

Spring season – best time for trimming. When examining lilac bushes in the spring, it is easier to diagnose their condition, since with a thorough examination it is easier to detect all diseased, weak branches. They are usually thin and brittle, and their leaves bloom with a delay. Inflorescences on such shoots are unlikely to form, but the plant will have to spend nutrients to maintain them. In spring, you can prune before flowering and after flowering.

Early spring pruning before flowering (late March - early April) stimulates the growth of side shoots. First, you need to remove all branches with any defects: damaged, broken, frostbitten, twisted. Then you need to get rid of old deformed branches with blackened bark, lichens and bare areas of the trunk. Last year's young shoots also need to be inspected and those that grow in the center of the bush should be removed. The light doesn't reach them required quantity, they do not have enough space for normal development, they receive few nutrients, they thicken the crown and overload the bush. At this stage, if you have not done this in the fall, you can carry out formative pruning of the crown, but you should remember that during this period you cannot shorten the upper parts of the branches on which the flower buds are located.

Spring pruning of lilacs after flowering (late May - mid-June) is carried out to remove faded inflorescences. This should be done as soon as possible after flowering has completed. If dried inflorescences are not removed from the bushes in time, the plant will begin to form fruits and seeds, spending a lot of energy on this process, which is necessary for the formation of flower buds. In this case, it will be impossible to wait for highly decorative flowering next season; it will turn out to be inferior and weak. If several types of lilac are grown on the site, then gardeners adhere to the rule: first cut the brushes from the bushes ordinary varieties, then from semi-double, then from terry. Old brushes are cut off with garden shears or light pruning shears at the point where the green part of the brush ends above the first pair of leaves or shoot buds. If these simple care steps are carried out in a timely manner, the lilac will bloom profusely next season.

If necessary, in the spring after flowering, you can slightly adjust the crown in accordance with the already selected type (bush or standard), shorten overgrown branches, and remove excessive thickening of the bush.

You can grow common lilac in

• high standard
• standard
• semi-standard
• in the form of an improved bush
• in the form of a free bush:

Thus, the varieties India, Krasnaya Moskva, Mechta, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya look better in the form of an improved bush with a small (10-15 cm) trunk. Other varieties exhibit better decorative qualities in the form of a free multi-stemmed bush with 6-7 skeletal branches. These include Marshall Foch, Pioneer and others. Lilac Olympics Kolesnikova, Katerina Havemeyer, Sky of Moscow, Galina Ulanova, Condorcet do not lose their qualities with any type of formation. And only a few varieties “prove themselves” in a high-standard form: Miss Helen Wilmot, Condorcet.

High standard formed depending on the growth ability of the variety. This is usually done in the 2nd year, and in poorly developed seedlings - in the fourth. In the spring, all unnecessary and underdeveloped branches in the crown are removed, and below the crown level, all branches are cut into a ring. The main shoot of the continuation is shortened to the size (the height of the trunk can be from 100 to 170 cm) necessary for the normal development of lateral branches. Side shoots(4-6 pairs of buds are left) pinch to obtain a compact crown and better branching.

Formation half standard And improved bush begin already in one-year-old seedlings. To form a semi-standard shape All lower buds on the seedling are removed by cutting to a height of 60-80 cm. Then 4-5 pairs of buds are counted up and the top of the last remaining pair is cut off with a sharp instrument, leaving a spike 2-2.5 cm long. To create a continuation shoot, only one most developed bud is left in the upper pair, the other, weaker one is plucked out . The developing shoot of the continuation is tied to the left thorn. After lignification of the growing sprout, the splints are completely cut out.

Improved bush shape laid in the same way as a semi-standard one. The height of the bole to the first pair of buds from the ground should be 12-25 cm. In subsequent years, make sure that all branches develop harmoniously, and pinch out fatty shoots. The most successfully formed lilac bushes are those with 5-6 skeletal branches. When creating a natural bush form, leave all the lower buds, and cut off the upper part of the shoot with 3-4 pairs of buds. Much attention is paid to the young plant in the first 2-3 years of flowering. At that time great importance has the correct cut of inflorescences. You can often observe that flower growers cut off, or even worse, break off the inflorescence along with one-year, and sometimes two-year growth. Excessive pruning of inflorescences on elongated shoots is depressing young plant. In addition, normal flowering in this case will occur in a year. The inflorescence must be cut off along with part of last year's branch, and the remaining branch must have at least two developing shoots. The apical lateral buds of these shoots lay flower buds in the second half of summer (some varieties lay 2-3 pairs of them), and the bush next year blooms profusely. In developing plants, shoots of thickening are pinched 3-4 times during the summer. Unevenly developing, fattening shoots peak at a young age, when a minimum of plastic substances are spent on their construction. Don't allow too much abundant flowering young plants, this negatively affects their subsequent growth and development. As a rule, too much flowering of young lilacs leads to premature aging and death of plants. During this period, the regulation of flowering is especially carefully monitored. In spring, when the inflorescences reach a length of 2-2.5 cm, the flower buds are partially broken off. IN In some years, the number of brushes is also normalized in adult lilac bushes of such varieties as Leonid Leonov, Congo and others. Most nurseries producing grafted and own-rooted lilac seedlings limit themselves to only short pruning of the annual shoot into 3-4 pairs of well-developed buds, and the plants practically emerge with a naturally formed crown. This form is far from the most successful. Such lilacs produce a lot of shoots, the branches develop unevenly, the crown thickens and the flowering becomes scarce. You can prevent abundant growth by shallow planting and timely removal of dormant buds at the base of the root collar of the rootstock. Basal shoots and shoots are removed systematically. For self-rooted lilacs - in early spring, for grafted ones - throughout the entire growing season as they emerge. The offspring shoots are cut into rings, going as deep into the soil as possible. If you remove the shoots from time to time, and even leaving stumps, the root zone only thickens even more, since from the stumps the shoots grow with a vengeance. In grafted lilacs, all shoots on the stem below the grafting site are cut out. Systematic and correct removal of underground shoots formed from dormant buds leads to the fact that the root collar is deprived of dormant buds or their number is reduced to a minimum. Subsequently, almost no growth is formed. For most varieties, you need to take care of the formation in the first year. Then trim the adults e plants are lighter.

Caring for lilac bushes.
For some reason, it is generally accepted that the more you break blooming lilac, the better it then grows and blooms.
In general, it is impossible to break a lilac, because its wood and bark are strong, and therefore large “torn” wounds are formed, due to which the bush may even die. But cutting it off is useful and necessary.