Gardens
Why Are My Lilacs Not Blooming? | Gardening Advice
Have lilacs with no flowers? Follow our expert gardening advice to get your lilacs blooming again.
By Shelley Wigglesworth|Apr 22 2022|
Coffee By Design | Portland, Maine
Photo Credit : Katherine Keenan
Photo Credit : Pixabay
Why Are My Lilacs Not Blooming?
Answer: There are a few possible reasons why your lilacs aren’t blooming.- A late freeze. Lilacs form flowers on one-year-old plant growth. Here are some questions to ask yourself. You said you planted the bushes four years ago —were the plants a year old when you planted them? Did you have a late freeze last year? A late freeze may have prevented the flowers from blooming. If the lack of blooming was due to a late freeze, your lilac bush should be fine this year—as long as there isn’t another late freeze.
- Lack of sunlight or pollinating insects. Does your lilac bush get adequate sunlight? Do bees and other pollinating insects frequent the area around the lilacs? Providing plenty of sunshine and an enticing area for pollinating insects can do wonders.
- Pests. Pests may prevent blooms from occurring. Did you notice any pest damage on the tree?
See More: Pruning Lilacs, Rhododendrons, and Gooseberry Bushes Easiest Roses to Grow in New England Why Are My Hydrangeas Not Blooming?
Jim Crockett from the original Victory Garden advised gently digging in a good helping of lime at the roots. This will ensure blooms and a healthy plant.
An enlightening article about my absolute FAVORITE flower — I would love for mine to look like the flowers in the accompanying photo; however, those flowers in the picture appear to be wisteria, rather than lilacs.
Thank you for the tips on growing lilacs. I see the photo has been corrected — now THOSE are gorgeous lilacs — I can almost smell that heavenly fragrance !
Many of the blossoms on my lilacs this year were killed by frost.
I love the articles and my neighbor cut our shared Lilac bush back to about one third and I didn’t think it would recover at all. (He also did it in March!) Of course I didn’t think it would recover but it is producing lots of new growth. Can’t wait to see next year what kind of blooms we will get.
Also,I am happy to see you are traveling into the future with this article being published originally in 2103! (Would love to be a time traveler!)
I have a question. I planted a lilac 3 yrs. ago and still no flowers?
Mine are actually a little ahead. No flowers yet but I can see all the buds. By the way, I’ve lived in southern/middle Ct. for 78 years and the scond week in May has always been lilac week. p.s. It usually rains that week just to srw things up.
Also, remember to cut the spent blooms after flowering. Will make for better blooming the next season. Yes, you can cut back old fashioned lilacs aggressively after they bloom or anytime in the summer. I have lilacs well over 50 years old and have to cut them back every few years if I don’t want them to become trees. Love them! Have dark purple, lavender and white ones and they make beautiful, if short lived, bouquets.