Hello raven. I am not an expert. But I have done that many times. Those small shoots at the base of the mother lilac coming out of the ground will have some roots. When you dig them up they will be contected to mom. Just cut away from mom. Make sure you have some roots. They like sun and lots of water. Good luck. filix

with a plant susceptible to suckering.. i dont know why anyone would mess with seed ... regardless... all the power to you .... ken

Neat to see lilacs! I remember those as a kid when I lived in northern Illinois. One of my peach trees has a few blooms on it. Very confused tree. My salvia madrensis is blooming very nicely now, too. Earlier this year I scattered a couple of chia seeds that had fallen on the floor and now I have a 6.5 foot plant that is starting to bloom. It has tiny blooms so not necessarily a very desirable salvia for ornamental beds (and it blooms very late in the fall). Unless we have a late freeze in Austin, probably won't get any seeds from it, either. Fun experiment, though.

"Does your conscience bother you at all when you rely on the local nursery for free advice, but then spend your money on uninspected ebay plants and what's available for the cheapest price at the big box stores?" Lol, I couldn't agree more! This looks like a root cutting (I am growing one off of my common lilac) and I wouldn't throw it out just yet. It may not die, it may in fact do very well. Taking chances is a major part in gardening, and it is often interesting to do so. I took a chance last year when I bought an eastern redbud with a dead leader and very ratty foliage. It bloomed this spring and is now beginning to leaf out. I took a chance when I planted a gardenia jasminoides last fall. Most of the leaves were killed by winter burn, but it has since re-leafed and is actively growing. I took a chance when I created a forsythia standard. It also bloomed this year and hasn't even suckered. Last week I dug up an 8ft tall prunus subhirtella volunteer in my neighbor's yard. Still not sure how that's going to turn out, but it's doing good so far. By now, you have probably gotten my point. Why throw out and abandon your problems, when you may be able to fix them easily, or they may even fix themselves?