heal smeal .... after flowering.. the plant goes into a phase of developing next years buds.. if they go thru all that work in july.. aug.. sept.. and you go out there.. and shear them off... guess how many flowers you will have next spring .. NONE ... ergo .. as with ALL flowering shrubs and trees ... you trim right after flowering.. so that the plant will respond and have time to SET NEW BUDS before winter .... all that said.. why in the world you would shear any tree or flowering shrub is beyond me.. all it would be.. is a system of topping a tree ... and we NEVER approve such ... selective reduction of the canopy ... would be the way to go ... and with flowering shrubs that is called REJUVENATION PRUNING w/o doing research ... a dwarf korean lilac is a flowering shrub .... which are never sheared .... they are renovated .... [AND I MAY BE TOTALLY WRONG ON ALL THIS.. LOL ] .... you probably have a shrub grafted onto a STANDARD .... it is not.. in theory .. a tree ... you would prune it like a shrub ... not like a tree .. in some sense of the word ... and definitely not like a hedge ... jeez almighty .. thank God you came and asked ... now.. all that said.. why do you want to massacre this thing??? ... just because some moron has some power shears he wants to charge you big money to start up???? is there some reason YOU want it done ... or is this his bright idea???? a 7 foot wide plant.. with a 5 inch trunk.. does NOT need to be taught a lesson with power tools.. unless you have it jammed into some severely confined space ... so whats up with all that???? more facts please .... ken

Hello, lpinkmountain. This what I do. Pruning after blooming promotes more blooms next Spring. It also forces reblooming lilacs to bloom again. But the lack of water last year could have also been a factor in your case. To prune the seed pods off, notice that the pods in any one stem of the shrub will originate off a little stem that can be easily pruned off. That is it; I do not do any other type of pruning because my shrub is still young. If your shrub were to be big, you could rejuvenate it by cutting stems that are 1.5" thick in thirds over a period of 3 years. Something else you can do is make sure that the soil is moist. Insert a finger into the soil to a depth of 4". Then determine if it feels dry, moist or wet. If it feels dry or almost dry then water; otherwise, skip watering on that day. Repeat this daily for 1-2 weeks and mark on a calendar when you water. When you observe that you are watering on a certain frequency (every 2/3/4/5 days) then set your sprinkler to water on that same frequency. If the temps change by 10-15 degrees and stay there, re-check using this method. My three year old shrub looses it leaves between October and December. If your shrub lost leaves last year because the temps went down then that is ok but if the temps were well above freezing, you need to prevent these droughts by watering as soon as the soil feels almost dry or dry. If lilcas do as azaleas, hydrangeas and camellias, the plant responds by aborting the buds. Fertilize now, i.e., right after blooming and cover the ground with mulch to prevent grass from growing under the shrub. I use cottonseed meal but a slow-release general purpose fertilizer with a NPK Ratio of 5-10-5 should work. Luis Here is a link that might be useful: Lilac Info

Yes, cut back to a lateral branch or branchlet, leaving no stub. Branch collars, where they exist, are apt to be more prominent on the trunk itself, and are not part of the branch per se. Leaving just this branch collar is advisable to help the tree close the wound made by pruning off that branch. But.....you will most likely not be seeing much for branch collars out on the branches, that feature, again, being part of the trunk. Use sharp pruning tools, try to do neat work, avoiding tearing of bark, etc. A hand pruner, a loppers (or lopping shears), and maybe a fold-up pruning saw will be the tools you'll need. In trees taller than Jap. tree lilacs, a pole saw and a pole pruner will also be needed. I'd avoid cheap combo units at the hardware store. Neither the saw nor the pruner portion are likely to be of good quality on such items, and the extra bulk on the end of the stick makes it difficult to get the saw and/or pruner into tight spots. But I doubt you'll need one or the other of these for your lilac. +om

"Display needs some round flowers like viburnums and hydrangeas to contrast with and balance (50/50 is a good proportion) all the spike shaped lilac and crepe myrtle flowers." There are more spiked flowers; you can't see the Butterfly bushes. I do have Peony and they're round. Hydrangeas, I like, but so do the DEER. Are these considered round enough to balance out all the spiked flowers? P.S., Have not been to BBG in years, but it IS a terrific resource and Bronx gem!