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Gardening in the UK

Lilac not flowering

21 years ago

We have a standard lilac which is about 3 years old in the garden. Last year it was covered in flowers at this time but this year it hasn't a single bud! The lilac looks very healthy and has put on a lot of new growth but no hint of any flower buds. We haven't moved it or treated it any differently so what could be the matter with it?

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Comments (6)

gilisi
21 years ago
puzzeling. has it been overly cloudy this year? in my part of the world, these plants flower best when they get tons of sunlight.
anyanka
21 years ago
Did you prune it last year? It flowers on old wood, and won't bloom the year after a cutback!
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pweek
Original Author
21 years ago
No - it wasn't pruned at all. I don't think it's been particularly cloudy here. The plant looks really healthy and plnty of new growth - it just doesn't have any flower buds...
anyanka
21 years ago
Pining for the fjords?
alcina
21 years ago
It's not the weather per se, there're a lot of lilacs in full bloom in the rest of SE London. Some are further on than others though (I think the purple ones are ahead of the white ones, but I wouldn't like to bet on that!).

Alcina
pineresin
21 years ago
What's really strange is that it flowered last year. That's a bit like a five-year old having a baby.

Give it a few more years and it'll start flowering well. Don't prune it at all except to remove any dead wood.

Resin

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