Syringa vulgaris
Common Name: Common lilac
Family: Oleaceae

DECIDUOUS

Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Plant is Native to: southern Europe
Plant Height at maturity: 8 to 15 feet tall, 6 to 12 feet wide.
Plant Habit and Form: Deciduous shrub, with upright form, medium texture, and growth rate. Suckers, is multi-stemmed.
Foliage: Simple ovate leaves are arranged opposite on stem. 2 to 5 inches long. Dark green in color; fall color is poor. Leaf base is subcordate (heart-shaped).

Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Bark: Bark is smooth, light gray in color. Has raised lenticels and leaf scars. Stems are stout.

Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Flower: Fragrant lilac flowers present in May. Flowers are born in panicles, 4 to 8 inches long, on terminal tips and are quite showy. Hundreds of cultivars provide large selection of flower color, ranging from lilac/purple, pink, magenta, blue and white.

Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington, CT

Fruit/Seed: Dry brown beaked capsules are born in large panicles, and are at the terminal tips. Should be removed.
Growing Requirements: Prefers well-drained, slightly acidic soil in full sun. Zone 3. Transplants well. Prune after flowering to maintain best shape, and trim off seed heads.
Problems and Drawbacks: Susceptible to powdery mildew, aphids, scales and caterpillars. The most serious disease of lilacs is bacterial blight, caused by bacterium pseudomonas syringea. Another problem is blight, especially a problem in wet summers (below).

Brooklyn, CT

Special Uses: Specimen or group for hedge effect. Good showy fragrant flowers.
ID Tips/Remarks: Showy flower, lilac fragrance. Gray bark, dark green ovate leaves. Buds are large and green, but turn purple in winter.
Bibliography:
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/Plants/s/syrvul/syrvul1.html
http://www.cnr.vt.edu/dendro/dendrology/syllabus/factsheet.cfm?ID=324
Lilacs, The Genus Syringa, FR John L. Fiala, 1988, Timber Press, Portland OR