Lilacs are one of my favorite spring flowers. They bloomed here a little later this year. Usually they’re in full bloom by Mother’s Day, but this year it was May Long (if you don’t know what that is, you didn’t read my Sunday Edition last week!)
Do you have lilacs where you live? When do they bloom? I read a book recently (that shall not be named, but it was traditionally published) where the lilacs were blooming in July. In Georgia. Is that even possible, if they bloom in May in the Pacific Northwest??? I must say, my e-reader got a bit of side-eye at that one.
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Hi Valerie! Lilacs are also one of my favorite spring flowers and normally are in bloom around Mother’s Day. Lilac are still bloom this Memorial Day weekend due to the unseasonably cold spring. Yesterday finally was able to plant the potted plants and enjoy the deck. Looks like rain today. Liked your comment about lilac in Georgia in July. Remember as a teen when a friend moved to California. Her main regret was that lilac does not bloom in California, because lilac are northern flowers that need frost in order to bloom. Best wishes.
Hi Valerie:) We don’t have any lilacs growing directly near us, but those that are grown in Victoria bloom spring/summer. Out ornamental pear trees and crab apples tend to flower first in spring- it is so beautiful seeing them. Now, the ornamental pear trees are losing their leaves as winter makes it’s presence felt.
Blessings:)
Hi, Valerie! I have no lilacs in Florida, but growing up in NJ there was a lilac next to my bedroom window and I loved it!!
I grew up in Michigan, and we had lilacs in our backyard. I now live in South Carolina and I don’t know if I’ve seen a lilac since we’ve live down here☹️
Hi Valerie,
I live in Ohio and lilacs here bloom about a week after Mother’s Day.
I’m quite lucky that one of my critique partners also runs a greenhouse. She has questioned a few plant references that might have gotten an eye roll–and helped me fix them!
Sally
Hi Valerie! I love lilacs. The are such a beautiful flower. People do try to grow them down here in parts of Texas. Some do well and some not so well. I remember when I was little and we moved from Oklahoma to Louisiana. My mother sent back for her sister to get her some. I think they did ok. Of course later we moved to south east Texas and you could grow them if you have a green thumb. lol I can’t remember what time of year, though.
Thank you for your lovely article!
Blessings
Ours are still in bloom this weekend too. I didn’t know lilacs need frost, but that makes sense :)
My ornamental crab blooms about the same time as my lilac, here :)
Lilacs are completely interwoven in my childhood and adult life across western Canada. On rare occasions, if we didn’t have on in our own yard, there was one down the block. I love the smell (outside) since it gets too intense for me inside.
I would miss them!
We’re definitely not looking for eye-rolls unless it’s meant to be comedic!
Interesting that Texas is kind of on the edge of lilac territory! It’s interesting to hear everyone’s stories. :)
Lilacs are my favorites. I miss them because I haven’t lived where they grow in a long time. I planted a lilac bush last spring, but it didn’t survive. I’m not sure the heat killed it. I think the drip system actually overwatered it.
I missed the part about the lilacs in Georgia. If they grow there, it must be in the mountains, and they certainly don’t bloom in July. Maybe they were thinking of crepe myrtles. They are everywhere in July in Georgia.
I live in northern California, and have lilacs. This year they bloomed in April, and were in their peak when we went to visit my aunt, so I took some to her. One of my neighbors’ lilacs bloom much earlier, just down the street! I have seen lilacs blooming in southern California too – I think it was in Descanso Gardens that there is a huge lilac garden.
You should read Jane Kirkpatrick’s book, Where Lilacs Still Bloom, about a lady in Oregon who hybridized lilacs.
According to the Farmer’s Almanac site: Although common lilacs love cold weather, a few thrive as south as Zone 9, among them the cutleaf lilac, a fragrant pale lavender. Syringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ is a graceful shrub with pale lilac-blue flowers that fade to white. There are many species – the almanac site has the different kinds listed. Also lilac to NOT LIKE WET FEET. Another site sited lilac grow in zones 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. Love this discussion. Thanks Valerie!
We have lilacs in Oregon. My tree finished blooming a week or two ago. I think lol. I lose track of time.
No lilacs in FL, but I have my crepe myrtles, gardenia, and magnolia!! The only ones blooming right now are my gardenia and magnolia. The crepes will take a bit longer!
Happy Memorial Weekend. I love Lilacs. I grew up on a farm in CA in the desert. So I had never seen a real lilac until we moved (when I was a sophomore in H.S.) from CA to IL. The house we moved into had a huge row of Lilac trees out by the road that went along the long length of front yard grass. Oh my, when those things bloomed, it was lilac scent for months. My dad wanted to cut them down and put in some sort of hedge bush. That was the first time I really heard my mom put her foot down. LOL
Oh interesting to know there’s a book about lilacs :)
We have “regular” lilacs, white ones, and deep purple ones around here. I love the deep purple ones! So pretty.
Mine are just past their prime in SE BC!
Magnolias are a huge favorite of mine, too!
Ha, that’s funny! And yes, lilac hedges are “a thing” around here too and across western Canada. They are a great windbreak! And yes, smell amazing.
I love lilacs, too! Ours bloom in late April/early May.
I wondered if the timeline for the story got moved around to later in the year, and the editor then missed the part already approved about lilacs? I listened to it in audio so didn’t backtrack to reread (and can’t give you chapter and page) but it was definitely lilacs and during/after peach season.
So beautiful and fragrant!