Lilac bushes offer fragrant, lacy blossoms in the springtime but can become very invasive. Once you have a lilac in your yard, you won't get rid of it easily.

Q: I have a lilac bush we planted about seven years ago in a good soil area that has good drainage. It has grown to about 5 feet tall, but we don't get many blooms. This year I counted only three.

Q: Last spring we planted 10 lilac bushes all in a row. It's an open yard with a lot of sun. What I want to know is what we can do in the spring to promote good growth as they ...

Plant the bushes in fertile soil, add organic material if the soil is poor. Make sure the site is well-drained. Wet feet will inhibit blooms and can kill the plant.

Do not apply fertilizer after July 15, which could keep the plant from going completely dormant by winter. Avoid the use of lime or alkaline fertilizers.

Lilac borer damage Lilacs are one of the host plants for the ash borer, Podosesia syringae. Adult moths fly during the day and bore holes into older wood at the base of the shrub to lay eggs ...

There are 12 species within the lilac, or Syringa, plant family, most of which can be grown from US hardiness zone 3 to US hardiness zone 7, with a preference for sunshine and well-draining soil.

Marisa Y. Thompson, PhD, is the Extension Horticulture Specialist, in the Department of Extension Plant Sciences at the New Mexico State University Los Lunas Agricultural Science Center, office ...