Lilacs are my favorite spring flower and I love the smell. A friend gave me quite a few suckers from her old fashioned lilacs...I mean not a hybrid I think....anyway....she left quite a bit of root on each one and each one is also about 4 foot tall. Is it ok to just put them in the ground? How deep? Lots of water? There isn't any dirt on the roots, just a good big section of root.

Put them straight in the ground and water them well. they should be fine, A couple of years ago I did the same from a lilac bush at an abandoned house. I also did the same from a cherry tree from the in-laws house.

I haven't got lilacs yet on the bushes (3 years now) but they were small, last year I had a few cherries though.

Hi, Fernie!
Tamara's right, get them planted asap making sure to place the topmost roots a couple inches below soil level. You might also cut them back by 1/3 to 1/2 to encourage them to start branching. Make sure they get at least an inch of water a week during this growing season to give them a good start. Once they've been in the ground for a couple of months you might want to give them a balanced liquid fertilizer but ONLY AT HALF STRENGTH. As long as you locate them in full sun you should see blooms in 3 years or so. Then you can have a very special bouquet!

Thanks a bunch for the info! I put them in the ground the day after bringing them home because I worried they would die! I planted them a couple inches deep and have watered them well since. Some are already branched and one of my horses leaned over the fence and cut a couple back by chewing on them!!!! I cut those level so they wouldn't lose too much moisture. So far they seem to be doing wonderful.