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Pruning old lilac
Hi,
I have the following lilac which has been neglected for a long time, hasht really flowered well the last two years and it could do with a rejuvenate or possibly removal if it’s gone past the point. I dont mind sacrificing flowering next year to sort it now, as I know it should have been pruned after flowering. Can it be hard pruned now ?
some pics:
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Posts
I would wait until spring then take out one in three stems, cutting them down to about eighteen inches from the ground and give the tree some Fish, Blood and Bone. They should re-shoot quite happily but it will be two or three years before they're mature enough to flower, so I wouldn't remove any more than that for the time being. Then when the new growth is flowering you can do the same with another third and repeat that a few years later.
Just watch out for suckers in the ground around the tree as hard pruning can sometimes stimulate sucker growth. Remove them where they grow from the roots.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
I did exactly what Dove suggests with some ancient lilac that were tall and straggly and poor. I was really tough on them, because it was improve or get dug out. They romped back like two year olds, leaves. flowers, beautiful!
snagging
thanks