Lilacs lend old world charm to garden

BEFORE I dive into this
week’s topic of lilacs in the
garden, I thought I should
briefly touch on the dive
bombing of our local
neighborhoods.

In its wisdom, Agriculture
Canada chose to ignore all pro-
tests and proceed with its aerial
spray program. More’s the pity.

I do not wish to promote the
senseless spread of panic and I am
reasonably confident that the in-
cidences of ill effects will be few
and mild. However, if vou do ex-
perience any unusual symptoms or
apparent side-effects, do not
allow these to go unreported.

All acute cases should be
reported immediately to your fam-
ily physician or the emergency fa-
cilities at your local hospital.

he Department of
Agriculture’s MOTH-LINE,
666-MOTH, will have a physician
on hand to answer health concerns
for a few hovrs on spray days as
well'as the day immediately before
and after.

The phone number for Society
Promoting Environmental Con-
servation (SPEC) is 736-0111.
Reporting to SPEC will insure
that instances such as yours are
enumerated and presented as evi-

dence at future calls for post-
ponement.

Now Iet’s move on to. talk
about some of the more pleasant
aspects of gardening good
plants.

Although the botanical name
for the common lilac is syringa
vulgaris, there is nothing vulgar
about them. Unless the heady
fragrance produced by most
hybrids reminds you of the over-
powering redolence of a harlot on
Haro.

The modern-day hybrids have
maintained favored positions in
the landscape for well over two
centuries. Most can be traced to
species forms native to the moun-
tains of eastern Europe, and they
still fend their old-world charm to
the traditional gardens of today.

They are deciduous in all their
forms. Their rather leggy, bare
winter appearance is the only
minor shortcoming I can think of.
The heart-shaped medium-green
leaves provide an interesting tex-
ture to the garden during the
growing season. The various
hybrids produce short, squat
habits of eight to 10 feet and/or
tall, slender forms of 15 feet or
more.

However, it is the flower that
demands all of our attention. The
magnificent trusses of small,

OVER 60 STYLES

OF CONCRETE
PLANTERS

Geoff
Tobiasson

OVER THE GARDEN GATE

fragrant blossoms burst forth in
April/May and can carry on until
June. The colors range from a
light blue-mauve to a rich wine-
purple, crimson, pink, white,
cream and even a suggestion of
yellow.

There are hundreds of named
varieties, displaying a wide
assortment of colors, shapes, sizes
and blooming times. Here are a
few of the best for the Pacific
Northwest:

» S. v. “Charles Joly’’ comes to
us as a tall, erect plant with dark

fr
me

OVER 20
STYLES
OF WOOD

FROM

$9.95

mai

purplish-red double flowers ap-
pearing in late May and into June.
» S. v. “Ellen Willmott’’ present
long, loose panicles of cream buds
opening to pure white double
flowers in May and June.

» S. x hyacinthiflora  ‘‘Ester
Staley’? is a lovely single pink
form whose extremely numerous
red buds first appear in early
Aprif.

» S. v. ‘‘Katherine Havermoyer’’
has won many awards including
the Award of Merit in 1933 and
the Award of Garden Merit in
1969. It produces double purple-
favender flowers which fade to
pale lilac-pink. Good choice.

» S. v. ‘‘Michael Buchner’’ of-
fers pale rosy-lilac heavily
fragrant flowers on large, dense
panicles in late May and June.

» S. v. ‘Mrs. Edward Harding"
has huge displays of claret-red
blossoms shaded pink late in the
lilac seascn on a large, erect
shrub.

Lilacs prefer a sunny position in
the garden in soil that is well
drained and contains pienty of
organic material. Avoid sites that
are excessively high or low in pH,
although slightly alkaline soils are
tolerated better than acidic condi-
tions.

Enrich planting sites with
copious quantities of compost that

has been fortified with well-rotted
manure. Lilacs are heavy nitrogen
feeders and regular additions of a
compost/manure mulch will pro-
vide just the nutrients they need to
look their best.

Fall applications of bonemeal
will provide the phosphorus need-
ed for the production of Mowers
as well as assist in neutralizing the
soil in acidic areas. Strong,
healthy plants are better able io
fend off disease and insect prob-
lems.

Speaking of which, leaf miner is
the only major insect invader to
be on the watch for. A tiny tun-
nelling caterpillar produces col-
orless blotches on the leaves which
later turn brown and give the
shrub a “‘scorched’’ appearance.

The first line of defence should
be applications of an organic in-
secticide containing bacilius thur-
ingiensis, or Bt, at six-week inter-
vals. Severe cases may require that
you paint the trunk with a
systemic insecticide such as
Cygon-2E.

Another major maintenance
consideration for the lilac is regu-
lar pruning. Too often, healthy
attractive plants are left to
degererate into unsightly thickets
of unproductive twigs and half-
dead branches. Proper pruning
can prevent this.

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