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Lilac seeds
samantha.richter
Posts: 2
in Plants
Hi, the lilac trees in my area are in full bloom right now and I noticed some seed pods on one of the trees in my local park, so I collected some. I've googled how to plant them, but it seems very complicated and there is all sorts of conflicting information out there. Can anyone tell me the best time/place/method for planting these seeds to maximise their potential for growing into new trees?
0
Posts
My lilac is still in flower. unless you live outside the uk it's unlikely that you have collected ripe seed.
Seed sowing for shrubs can be made to sound complicated, weeks in and out of fridge and lots of messing around. All you need to do is follow what the plant is doing. When it starts to drop seed, collect and sow. Don't save it, sow it. Put it in gritty compost, leave it outside someone shady, leave it alone, it will get watered when it rains, frozen when winter comes. That's how it works and it will germinate when it's ready.
Fancy cultivars of lilac don't come true from seed
In the sticks near Peterborough
I've never heard of collecting seed, and I lost my lilac tree a few years ago for reasons unknown - it just died. (I'm good at that, but I'd had this one for years).
I've never replaced it (dunno why) but collecting seed appeals to me as I have a friend with a beauty and I'm sure she'd give me some. I'll ask her to let some flowers go to seed, and give it a 'go'. I live in the UK.
I always thought lilac spread by suckers! It was a sucker from a tree of my grandmothers, so I don't think grannie's can have been grafted or anything. (Do they graft lilac?)
Yes, the fancy white ones are usually grafted onto more vigorous ordinary purple stock. Others too no doubt.
Lilacs are often grafted, sometimes onto privet. It's not easy to get a graft to "take" though.
If your friend's lilac is particularly lovely, why not try taking softwood cuttings? If it works, you'll have a plant identical to the parent.
The thing is, it's not a friend's plant, it's a tree in a garden that backs onto the park, overhanging the fence. I've been tempted to take a cutting, but I don't think that would be right as I don't know the person whose tree it is. However, a few seed pods, I don't see the harm in taking, as it doesn't harm the tree and I doubt very much that anyone will use them. I just like experimenting with getting seeds to germinate and seeing what might grow. I'm wondering whether I should put them in the fridge first, or not since they'll already just sat through one winter.
So these are seeds from last year's flowers? You may find the pods are empty, with the seeds having fallen to the ground last year when they ripened. If you do find seeds, they may or may not be viable; the books say stratify in damp sand in a fridge for 2 months, but you could just sow them and leave the pot in a shady corner outside, and wait. They might germinate - or they might need another winter before they come up.