The Times - UK (2022-04-09)

the times Saturday April 9 2022

17

‘Morning mist shredded away

to reveal the hills of south

Wales across the rising tide’

Christopher Somerville’s good walk

To extend the

season, use lilacs

as a living

support for

a late-f lowering

clematis

Prune lilacs annually

Once a tall lilac reaches about 2m tall it

should be pruned a little every year after

flowering to develop a good framework

of stems and enhance flowering the

following year. Remove weak, twiggy

growth, non-productive stems and

suckers from the base. Cut long thin

stems back to a pair of leaves, leaving

branches with wood around pen-

cil thickness, which will

flower better next year.

Deadhead after

flowering if you

can reach to tidy

it up and im-

prove vigour.

Saving

old

lilacs:

the

methods

If you have, or in-

herit, a large old lilac

that is misshapen or

dense, there are two main

methods to get it back into shape.

One slow and one fast, the choice is yours:

1. The three-year fix
   After flowering this year, cut one third of
   the main stems out to ground level aiming
   for a balanced shape — so not all from one
   side. Next year, after flowering, remove

another third,

then the remain-

ing third in the last

year. This should

provide flowers and

a regenerated plant

to maintain annually.

2. Get it done
   (This is more my approach,
   which matches my personali-
   ty!) Cut everything back to 15-20cm
   (6-8in) off the ground in March or early
   April. Yes, that means no flowers this year.
   This pruning will throw up many shoots.
   This time next year retain several strong
   shoots to form the new balanced frame-
   work, prune back to pencil thickness and
   remove all the others at ground level.

Joe’s top six lilacs

Syringa ‘Primrose’

White flowers that mature to a soft,

creamy yellow and fabulous scent. Height

3m x spread 3m.

S. x josiflexa ‘Bellicent’

Upright branches that arch gently when

in flower. Rose pink, highly fragrant

flowers in loose clusters and dark foliage

set off by dark stems. Height 3m x spread

2.5m.

S. vulgaris ‘Firmament’

Light blue flowers with purple shades. One

of lilac breeders’ first blues in 1932. Good

scent. Height 3m x spread 2.5m.

S. ‘Red Pixie’

An excellent choice for the smaller garden

or can be grown in a large container. Reds

buds burst open into light pink flowers and

the small foliage is in proportion with the

plant. Height 1.8m x spread 1.8m.

S. meyeri ‘Palibin’ (Korean lilac)

Another small one. Masses of pinky white

flowers from darker buds and dark green

foliage. Height 1.5m x spread 1.5m.

S. ‘Boomerang’

New introduction and so named because

it keeps flowering. After the initial flush

it carries on producing some flowers till

the end of summer. Purple, pink flowers

from deep purple buds. Height 1.5m x

spread 1.5m.

interior flower and reverse of flower). The
larger, showier “look at me!” varieties
often carry large double flowers (not so
good for pollinators to access) and can
look out of proportion with the plant as
a whole.

What to do with lilacs

once their short flowering

spell is over

After flowering, yes they just turn into
leafy shrubs. To extend the season, why
not use them as a living support for a late-
flowering clematis (C. viticella or texensis
varieties are good choices)? Plant the
clematis away from the lilac’s roots still at-
tached to the cane at a 45-degree angle,
and remember it will grow towards the
light, so start it on the shady side. Don’t let
it dry out while it establishes itself. Both
lilacs and clematis can be planted now for
a fulfilling weekend project.

Cut back hardy fuchsias

(magellanica, molinae,

‘Hawkshead’, ‘Riccartonii’,

‘Tricolor’ etc). Either you

can tidy them back,

removing the dead and

wispier growth, or you

can cut the whole thing

down low like a red-

stemmed dogwood to

produce a fountain of

long stems that will start

to flower later in summer

but go on till the frosts.

Take a look at your

paving cracks. Are they

attractively populated

by plants or overrun? Go

through them with a

knife, removing rogues

and unwanted seedlings.

Using weedkiller on

“paving weeds” looks

ghastly, though if you do

it consistently instead of

making physical

disturbance by weeding,

you get nice seams of

moss between the

paving stones.

Sow hardy annuals where

they are to flower:

nasturtiums, calendulas,

cornflowers, lavateras etc.

Always sow thinly so the

seedlings come up singly

and can be thinned

without disturbance to

each other. Prepare the

soil as you would for lawn

seed, lightly forking it

over and breaking it

down to a fine tilth. Criss-

cross the patch to be

sown with shallow drills

and when you have

dribbled the seed into

them, gently draw the soil

over the drills.

Overwintered geraniums

and fuchsias still indoors

will be growing again

now. Nip out the tips of

the leading shoots to

make them bush out.

Ideally, pinch just above

an outward pointing bud

as you would when

pruning a rose to

encourage a well-spread,

open-centred plant.

Watch for aphids; they

seem to appear from

nowhere, even indoors.

It is barely worth dead-

heading most daffodils,

but if you have bought

special new varieties you

want to increase fast,

taking the seedheads will

mean more energy goes

into the bulb.

Stephen Anderton

Weeder’s

digest

Page

19

CHRISTA BRAND, HOWARD RICE/GAP PHOTOS; ALAMY

it

er

k

another third

Jo

Syr

Wh

cre

3m

S

U

in

fl

se

2. 5

S.v

Lig

ofl

sce

S‘

Syringa vulgaris

S. x vulgaris

which will

extyear.

after

you

y

in-

d lilac

apen or

e two main

it back into shape.

f t th h i i

a

th

in

y

pr

a r

to m

2. G

(This ism

which match

ty!) Cut everythin

(6 8i)ffth di

a

S. x josiflexa ‘Bellicent’