Katherine Havemeyer Lilac (French lilac)

Description

Is a Katherine Havemeyer Lilac right for you?

🚨🚨 **** Important note: Sorry, No Sales to Western, Territories, or Phyto-certificate states due to shipping restrictions in your state (Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, South Dakota, North Dakota, Colorado, Utah, and Idaho). I can also only ship to Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, Arkansas, and Mississippi during bare root season (late fall through early spring) due to Japanese Beetle regulations.

These lilacs are perfect when used as accent plants around the foundation of your home, as a flowering hedge, or to add some glorious fragrance to a sunny sitting area. Lilacs are also one of the most beloved fresh cut flowers to adorn the inside of your home with its intoxicating scent.

🌸 Do keep in mind that lilacs need a little adjustment period once planted. It can take them a couple of years to really bloom. This is completely normal.

✅ Botanical name: Syringa vulgaris ‘Katherine Havemeyer’

✅ Growing zones: 4-7 (8 is possible but it may not flower as reliably)

✅ Mature size: 8-12 feet tall and 9-12 feet wide. When happy, these beautiful flowering shrubs will grow 1 to 2 feet per year.

✅ Spacing: If you’d like to see a continuous hedge row, plant around 7-8 feet apart. For more of a gap, plan for around 14 feet apart.

✅ Bloom time: Late spring. 6-8 inch gorgeous blooms.

✅ Light requirements: Full sun (6+ hours daily). Very light dappled shade in the hottest part of the day is tolerated.

✅ Soil: Lilacs are very adaptable to soil types. Heavy clay will need amendments to lighten it up, however. Well-draining is required. Neutral to alkaline soil pH is needed. Lilacs do not like acidic soil. If your soil is acidic, adding lime will help sweeten/neutralize it 🙂

✅ Water: Lilacs prefer consistently moist but can tolerate a little drought (though not preferred) once they are fully established (after a year or two).

✅ Apply fertilizer once or twice in spring. Espoma Organic Bone Meal is an excellent choice due to its higher amounts of phosphorous (for blooms) and less nitrogen.

✅ Prune lilacs after they finish blooming in the spring to encourage increased blooms in the upcoming seasons. You’ll want to cut off spent flowers before they set their seed for this purpose. It’s also a good time to cut off dead or damaged limbs.

✅ Fluff the ground soil when planting, add a little compost, and maybe even some mycorrhizae (we love the Bigfoot brand) to the planting hole to get your lilac off to a great start!

🦌 Katherine Havemeyer lilacs are deer resistant! They may still browse slightly but it isn’t their favorite!

🦋 🐝 Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other pollinators LOVE these!! You will enjoy seeing them come year after year.

🌺 You can’t go wrong with this choice. They’re low maintenance (especially once established), are absolutely gorgeous in bloom and not, intoxicatingly fragrant, very versatile, and are the most beloved cut flowers for enjoying inside your home. You’ll look forward to this one returning year after year.

If you have any questions, I’m here to help the best I can! As a small family nursery, my goal is to offer the “personal touch” to show you that we care about your business. Customer service, and your support, sincerely matter to us. Thanks for looking!