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#154372 Nov 22nd, 2007 at 08:35 PM
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we moved in 2004/5 (I get confusded--we moved 12-26-07--

in the fall before we moved I dug up a start of my DD lilac bush and potted it. It is still in a large pot. I babied it from a 2 inch start to what it is now--about a 4 ft+ bush-ette. I kept it in the house year round the first few years--then last summer I put it out in the spring & kept it out. When winter came I put it between the house/deck & air conditioning unit. I brought it bsack to teh front of the house thsi summer--it is doing well.

My question---- it is more than time to do something--I cannot put it bck behind the air conditioning unit because it is getting too big for the DH to lift back out in the spring.--where do I keep it?? on my front porch (under roof), no sides to porch--or do I put it in my shed--it has a window?? or the garage?/ now---if I put it inside==do I water it and if so , how much & how often---
If I leave it out in the cold unprotected won't it freeze & die?? Last year I put it behind the deck/air con. unit because I figured it would be kept from freezing (and it did)--and it got watered when it rained--but now I am in a delimma--help !!


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JunieGirl #154404 Nov 23rd, 2007 at 06:24 AM
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Carol, any chance of getting someone to plant it for you? Even if you want to dig it out and repot it in the spring.

You could also put it in the unheated garage and water it once a month depending on the temp where you live.


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Sunflowers #154506 Nov 23rd, 2007 at 12:49 PM
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They are so hardy I would try to put a thick piece of styrofoam under the pot.(I use this stuff for everything). You can use a old styro cooler to build it up off the ground. By doing this it is not sitting on the cold ground and offers insulation.

Put drainage holes in the foam so water will run through but not freeze around the pot. Put more styro around the pot.

Surround the pot with leaves or pine needles.

I know I am not decribing this good. What it should look like is a styrofoam enclosed area with mounded leaves or pine needles.

I kept a lot of things alive through the winter doing using styro and pine needles.


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JunieGirl #154543 Nov 23rd, 2007 at 02:44 PM
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I second tamara's suggestion. Get its roots underground while you can still work the soil. lilac is very cold hardy, and should be dormant now. Seeing as how late it is,I suggest you mulch around it to prevent frost heave as spring arrives.

neko nomad #180372 Feb 10th, 2008 at 03:20 AM
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lilacs grow all over up here, roadsides too. I have several of them. They are hardy to zone 3 in Canada. I can grow one in a pot on the patio here and just leave it all winter long and it's fine, so I don't think you need to worry about it freezing.

Don't bring it in the house, it needs the dormant, extreme cold winter. Leave it outside where it can get the natural winter precipitation. I wouldn't pour water on it while it frozen in the winter time.


SherylG #180398 Feb 10th, 2008 at 05:19 AM
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I'm in zone 3-4 and trust me, anything in a pot freezes.


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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Sunflowers #186733 Feb 28th, 2008 at 06:55 AM
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I ended up putting it in the garage by the window--I water it once in awhile Iike it might get if it were outside.--I can only hope it makes it.--

But thanks to you all.


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JunieGirl #186807 Feb 28th, 2008 at 10:54 AM
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Carol, I'd plant it out in the ground for good.....we have tons of them around here and they are very cold hardy. I actually have about a 8 inch baby that's been out in my yard for a few years now.....I just threw it in one of the beds and it's been fine. I love lilac bushes. grin

#186891 Feb 28th, 2008 at 04:33 PM
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I also have a lilac out in our yard.. I just bought it last summer.. it was started in a one gallon pot.. and I just transplanted it over.. and it did great all summer.. I guess we shall see how it does this spring.. and I am going to be getting another one here soon.. we just got our Arbor Day Foundation packet for the year and they are throwing in a free lilac this year.. YAY! I am excited to get the 10 trees and get them planted ...

Pinkhorseofcourse #188091 Mar 2nd, 2008 at 07:23 PM
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Cool.....it's always fun to get new trees and bushes.

You know where my lilac came from? I didn't buy it....

Our neighbors across the street(who drive me nuts), had their BEAUTIFUL, HUGE lilac tree pulled totally out. The thing was massive and in a corner of the yard not hurting anything. She always said she loved the cuttings off it for inside her house.....they are poisonous, but they don't have small children so I'm unsure the reason for pulling it out...she's not a gardener at all...now her yard it just grass and that's it. No trees or anything.

So mom and dad have a concrete path on their property next to where the lilac bush grew. After it was pulled up I found a little 2 inch baby growing in one of the cracks of the path....Pulled it out and planted it outside and it's done well ever since.

So I had the last laugh. Because even though they killed a beautiful lilac I ended up saving its baby. And that tree will now live on thru it.

#188095 Mar 2nd, 2008 at 07:29 PM
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Great Loz.

I have wild lilac bushes her but the one I love the most is the Sensation lilac I had special ordered. I can't wait for it to grow big.


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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Sunflowers #189019 Mar 5th, 2008 at 09:15 AM
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Well ladies, The lilac is alive & well and living in my garage---I placed it by a window. I think I will bring up it to Valarie one more time this spring---if she does not take it (her huskey likes to lay on & pull up many of her plantings) I will find it a home in my yard.

The plus will be I will have an extra pot !!!


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JunieGirl #189049 Mar 5th, 2008 at 12:53 PM
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Sounds good Carol.


~~Tam~ You can bury all your troubles by digging in the dirt.
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JunieGirl #199937 Apr 8th, 2008 at 08:03 PM
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Originally Posted by JunieGirl
Well ladies, The lilac is alive & well and living in my garage---I placed it by a window. I think I will bring up it to Valarie one more time this spring---if she does not take it (her huskey likes to lay on & pull up many of her plantings) I will find it a home in my yard.

The plus will be I will have an extra pot !!!


I have been watering the tree with rain water--and it is sprouting leaves---now if I can only get tit to sprout from the trunk like it started to last year that will be great !!!



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JunieGirl #199981 Apr 8th, 2008 at 09:22 PM
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you can put that right in the ground. it's plenty hardy for the area you live in.

you can force growth lower on the stems/branches by cutting it back. the only downfall to that is you will probably lose the blooms for the following year.


Zone 6b
Joclyn #201847 Apr 16th, 2008 at 10:25 AM
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Joclyn--nope I will wait--last year I thought the same thing, brought it out and lost all the leaves on the uppermost growth and all the new growth on the lower trunk.===so as it is doing well, I will wait to bring out out until after Mom's day. Anyway, Valarie is talking about planting it in her yard--(it IS hers after all-- why) lol

Last edited by JunieGirl; Apr 16th, 2008 at 10:25 AM.

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JunieGirl #214675 Jun 8th, 2008 at 08:12 PM
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lilac bush is doing well.
DD has still not taken it to transplant it--so I re-potted it to a larger pot--The lilac should be good in this pot for a few more years. But if she does not take it soon, I am going to have to seriously consider planting it in MY yard---


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