A lilac tree that isn't lilac in colour seems odd and messing with nature - but that is just my thoughts. Trees certainly do grow more vigorously in soil rather than pots @UpNorth, so if you have the space in your garden that seems to me to be the correct thing to do - wait until the weather cools down and more rain before doing any transplanting though - good luck.
You will be happy to know that on my walk this morning I saw a mature lilac hedge in excellent health not only fully shaded by many very tall trees, but also capable of withstanding the lack of water from competing with the surrounding trees. Looking forward to seeing it in spring all abloom.
I love white lilac ... it seems just as popular in gardens as the bluey-lilac ... and then of course there’s lots of darker lilac too, some more purple-lilac and some almost reddish.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Hi @Guernsey Donkey2 hope you don’t mind me butting in. We had a lilac tree in our garden for forty years. It was beautiful but it suckered terribly and even now four years after we dug it out we still get suckers coming up anything up to fifteen feet away from where the tree was. Hopefully modern varieties are better behaved and you won’t have the same problem.
We have an old lilac tree, its diameter is getting towards 25-30cm. The bark looks stunning. I've also taken out two lilacs, these were suckering badly and had been hacked back by the previous owners. I very much prefer the tree form over hacking it back and letting it regrow which can become very unsightly. In a hedge I wonder if the suckering (encouraged by pruning I imagine) can become a problem.
Thank you for all your advice concerning the Lilac tree and suckering. Lilac trees can look stunning and provide food for many insects and I am determined to plant some in the border of our field. I will have my cutters ready for troublesome suckers.
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Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.