Start with how you know the soil is acidic, and just how acidic is it?

I should have written an excess of calcium and magnesium in the above. Too much magnesium may also be contributing to the hard soil texture.

you planted it in spring.. and think its looks stressed in the heat of summer... it should.. it wasnt established ...

once you stepped out of that parameter ... i cant think of a shrub more bulletproof in my entire property ... i would never consider using money to do anything to a lilac.... more likely.. i would run it over with my truck ... if i still had it ...

you kinda stepped into my theorem of trying to love it to death ...

you didnt mention the state of the BBStore stock at planting... winding roots.. surgery.. planting method.. etc ...

you cant compare fully established, pre exisiting plants ... with transplants ... in the first season ... [though i dont understand if the nursery Ls were also new... but planted much earlier int eh season ...

what to do ... they sound rather small ... dig them up in a week or two ... and replant them ... knock some soil off ... dig some of the old soil out.. and bring some in from some other spot in the yard .. replant ... water ...

i know i could get away with that in my MI ... you can most likely also ...

ken

The lesson to take from this is patience. Plants other than annuals won't give you instant gratification, and woody plants like shrubs and trees will take time to settle in, to adjust to any changes in soil tilth, fertility or pH that you make.

Since it sounds like at least a goodly amount of the lime is still on the surface, I would start by removing as much as possible. You can remove the top inch or so of soil as well, and then I would use the hose to wash away any remaining visible white. Then I would add fresh soil and a good layer of mulch and do nothing more until next spring. At that time you can follow AKAMaine's directions to dig out and replant. (If it turns out you have acidic soil you can scatter the removed lime across the lawn thinly next time you have a good rain, but don't do this until you know your pH.)

Chemically, cement lime is actually calcium oxide. When moist, it gradually absorbs carbon dioxide from the air, turning into calcium carbonate (like limestone), which is much less alkaline than the original cement lime. So assuming the lime has already been in the ground for more than a week, I really do not think any more damage will be done to your plant.

Indeed, for anyone who just wants to bring the pH up to 7, they should use powdered limestone, not cement lime. Calcium carbonate neutralizes acid just as well as calcium oxide, but if you use too much it will not bring the pH up to unhealthily high levels.

I have a Lilac growing in very limestone-rich soil (that is just the way the soil naturally is here) and it seems to be doing very well.

The product used by ilovemytrees is not the lime used in masonry. It is dolomitic limestone in pelletized form sold by the Espoma company specifically for garden use. Calcitic lime is also sometimes available, especially in farm and feed stores. This is the same as dolomitic limestone except that it does not contain the magnesium. Any plant which had three bags of masonry lime dumped near its roots would have died within days, maybe hours, of its application.

The other thing you should know is the effect of adding lime is not immediate. It takes time to alter soil pH, either by adding lime to increase pH or adding sulfur to lower. And by time, I mean months (even years, depending on type of product used). Typically, the recommendation is to apply at least 3-6 months before planting.

Cement lime is not the same as pelletized dolomitic lime and it is not used or sold for gardening or agricultural purposes.

When adding any amendment or fertilizer to your garden it is important to understand how the products works and to apply only as the label instructs. If a little is good, a whole lot more generally is NOT :-)

I used three 5lb bags for the 3 Lilacs. One bag for each shrub. Before I had done this, I had read online that there is no danger to add as much lime as you want. That is why I had done that. Like I said earlier, we have very fast draining soil, and it's extremely sandy and rocky. I figured most of it would wash away, but there is so much of the lime still on top. It's white. I am watering them right now as I type this, and the hardness of the soil now just freaks me out.

I was told years ago that our soil is EXTREMELY acidic by the local cooperative extension. She said that is why there are so many maples around here.

When is the BEST time to dig up these Lilacs to replant them? Is it better, with Lilacs to do it in the fall or early spring? They are FULL of buds now and I don't want to screw things up any more than I already have.

Ken, I planted 5 other Lilacs, that I got from an online nursery, at the same time as these 3 Lilacs,and they didn't have any transplant shock whatsoever. I don't know if Ludwig Lilacs are more fragile, or if it's the fact that I got it from a big box store, or what, but they looked miserable, to me, most of the summer. However, like I said they didn't drop any leaves or anything.

I cant believe how cement-like this soil is, and it scares me to think it might crack open or something when the ground freezes and kills the roots. I will definitely be digging out all the lime I can, and grabbing some native soil elsewhere in the yard to put in there. Is my theory of the soil cracking a valid one, so that I should do it later this month, instead of waiting til Spring?

Couple of things......what is considered as "extremely acidic" soils by your extension service? Most of western NY has only moderately acidic soil (and there are even limestone pockets here and there with somewhat alkaline soil conditions). "Extremely" acidic would be less than 5.0. And maples are pretty tolerant of any soil pH as long as not extreme in either direction, although most species would prefer a slightly acidic pH, as do the vast majority of other plant types - I would not necessarily consider their presence as a sign of very acidic conditions.

Do you see lilacs growing and blooming in any nearby gardens? That's typically a reasonable indication of the suitability of growing conditions without the need for a lot of amending. FWIW, lilacs thrive in my area of the PNW which has slightly to moderately acidic soil. They do not demand an alkaline soil condition. If you intend to transplant, I'd do it as soon as the leaves start to drop. And by all means, go easy on the lime if you apply any at all!!

As far as your cement-like soil, I'd just layer on a good thick covering (4-6") of compost after transplanting the lilacs and let nature takes its course. Compost is an excellent remediation material for contaminated soils and will stimulate the soil biology to loosen up the hard surface. With any luck, the soil should be ready to accept new plantings in spring. But I might have a soil test done first to see exactly how out of whack the pH is in that area. The good news is that most soils have a buffering capacity that prevents any significant permanent change in pH so whatever damage the excess lime might have done will only be temporary.

1. Lilacs are among the most adaptable and forgiving of shrubs. In the moderately acid soils of Maine they are often still found growing and blooming around the old cellar holes of farms abandoned 150 or more years ago. Historical archaeologists often use them as a reliable indicator of old settlements when doing aerial surveys. No one has added lime or fertilizer in many, many decades,, but on they grow. So, remove what you can of the lime, add some compost as gardengal48 suggested and relax. I would wait until after they bloom next spring to move them, largely because Z5 winters are so unpredictable and there is some risk of the flower buds aborting if you do it now. One speciality grower of lilacs - Fox Hill Nursery in Freeport ME - recommends fall transplanting after leaf drop, however, so it's really your choice.

I'm curious to know where the OP read that it is okay to use as much lime as you want!