I want to grow lilacs. But is it possible to take a cutting and grow a healthy bush from the cutting?

It is very difficult to propagate lilacs from cuttings. There is a small window of opportunity to take a cutting and get it to take. The best way is to harvest sprouts (suckers) that come up from the roots of older established plants. I have done this numerous times with 100% success rate. Dig up a sprout and make sure to get all of the root system, or as much as possible. Plant it in a 1 - 3 gal. pot and add compost or potting mix. In a year or two you can plant it in the yard. Here is info written by Utah State Univ. Extension ......Root sprouts provide the simplest and most


usual way of propagating the common lilac.


Some lilacs send out suckers near the base


of the plant. Dig up these new sprouts in the


fall and transplant them elsewhere in the


garden or in a nursery pot. They often develop


into satisfactory plants in about 3 years. This


method, however, will not be satisfactory


for grafted plants, because the suckers will


not be like the tops of the plants. Look for a


graft union near the soil line to determine if


a plant is grafted.Here is a link explaining why using cuttings is not a good idea... Hope this answers your question...Happy Easter!


http://www.cahe.nmsu.edu/ces/yard/2005/0...





... Billy Ray

I want to grow lilacs. But is it possible to take a cutting and grow a healthy bush from the cutting?
Hello,


You can propagate by a cutting, but it is extremely difficult to get the results you seek.


Most all lilacs offered for sale by growers are propagated, %26quot;invetro culture%26quot;, otherwise by growing tissue in a lab.


I just was at the Arbor Day website, and they offer small lilacs for about $2.50 each.


They are small, but at that price, a real bargain to aquire, grow yourself for a few seasons, then re-sale them again at a better price to others, or to keep yourselve.


Hope this helps,


Dave
Reply:You could do that or find someone that has a lilac and dig up a sucker from the bottom as they are allways sending up suckers. Find one that has roots and plant it. It should grow well.. There are many varieties of lilacs out today... You can get many colors now.
Reply:I take cuttings from almost every shrub I have. I have a rooting box in my backyard and when my shrubs start putting out new growth I clip about a 4in. clipping dip it in root growth and plant. I just keep it moist and depending on the cutting its ready to transplant in around 1 to 2 planting seasons.



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