We receive many calls this time of year asking “What is that beautiful tree with the white flowers?” The Japanese Tree Lilac is a wonderful ornamental tree that blossoms with big white bouquets of flowers that are exceptionally fragrant. It produces no fruit and is very hardy to our Minnesota winters. It reaches a mature height of between 18 feet and 25 feet – depending on variety. The regular lilacs bloom in May and when we are still hungry for our lilac fix – this tree goes into high gear.
This tree is planted in the Long Term Care Garden at the Northfield Hospital. Click on the image for a larger version.
4 Comments
I planted a Japanese Tree Lilac 5-Yrs. Ago. It was a Balled & Burlap when I planted it. The Main trunk has 8-large branches coming off it about 1-ft. off the ground. This past spring it was loaded with beautiful blossoms and was doing quite well. No apparent blight or insect infestation. About 4-weeks ago the leaves on one of the large branches started drying up. I snipped off a smaller branch and it still shows green in the outer bark. Now the last fews days I have more leaves drying up on other large branches and it seems to be the center branches only. I asked about this condition at a local nursery (without them seeing it) and they seem to think it might be root bound. I also have (8) Potentellas planted around the base of the tree about 4-ft.out from the trunk. I hate to loose this beautiful tree & hoping you can shed some light on what may be the problem with it.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Sincerely,
Henry Lehn – Monticello,Mn.
when are the white japanese lilacs ussally available and planted. live in northern indiana
You should check with a local nursery in Indiana. We are in southern Minnesota. We have them available for planting from April until November.
What’s your soil type – how has it been watered… Did you plant the Potentillas at the same time? A balled and burlapped tree is hard to get root bound – but it could happen. Also – lilacs are susceptible to Verticillium Wilt and what you’re describing sounds quite a bit like this. You would need to cut off a branch and have someone look at it for sure. You could call Leif on his cell phone at 507-581-6135 and discuss this in more detail.