3298 



SYRINGA 



SYRINGA 



losa. S. emodi, and S. Josiksea; after the middle of 

 June S. amurensis and S. pekinensis come into bloom, 

 followed by S. japonica as the last, blooming in the 

 North in the beginning of July. S. amurensis and S. 

 pekinensis sometimes bloom sparingly a second time in 

 fall. The foliage is bright green and handsome, but 

 drops comparatively early in fall, especially in S. 

 japonica, without assuming any fall coloring as a rule. 

 In S. oblata the foliage turns to a deep vinous red and 

 remains until November. In S. pekinensis it is retained 

 until late in fall and finally assumes a purplish hue or 

 turns pale yellow. 



The foliage is not much attacked by insects, but a 

 fungus, Microsphaera alni, late in summer often covers 

 the whole foliage of S. vulgaris and also of S. chinensis 

 and S. persica with a white mealy coat, while S. oblata is 

 but rarely troubled with this fungus and the other 

 species never. Much damage is sometimes done by a 

 borer, Trochilium denudatum, which lives in the stems 

 and branches of S. vulgaris, but is rarely found in any 

 other species. 



After blooming, the inflorescence should be removed 

 if possible and the pruning be done as far as necessary. 

 Pruning in winter or spring would destroy a large part 

 of the flower-buds for the coming season. Lilacs grow 

 in almost any kind of soil, but a rich and moderately 

 moist one is the most suitable. They are easily trans- 

 planted at any time from fall to spring. S. vulgaris 

 and its numerous varieties are the most popular of the 

 lilacs on account of their early and profuse blooming, 

 their sweet fragrance, and the variety of colors ranging 

 from dark purple to lilac, pink, and white. The double- 

 flowered varieties keep the blooms longer, but the 

 panicles are less graceful and they usually do not bloom 

 so profusely as the single ones; they also remain mostly 

 dwarfer and have a more compact habit. The faded 

 flowers do not fall off, but remain on the inflorescence; 

 this gives the plant a very unsightly appearance if the 

 faded panicles are not removed. W. J. Stewart sug- 

 gests a word of warning against lilacs not on their own 

 roots, because of the attacks of borers and the bad habit 

 of suckering in some cases. 



Some of the best single-flowered varieties are the 

 following: 



SINGLE-FLOWERED LILACS. White: Alba grandiflora; 

 Alba pyramidalis; Frau Bertha Dammann, A.F. 12: 

 1078; Madame Moser; Marie Legraye, one of the very 

 best, B.H. 29:135; Princess Marie; Princess Alexandra 

 is a favorite variety of this class in America. Blue, 

 lilac, or pink: Ambroise Verschaffelt, pale pink; Dr. 

 Lindley, pinkish lilac, F.S. 14:1481; Geant des batailles, 

 bluish lilac; Geheimrath Heyder, light lilac; Gigantea, 

 bluish red; Gloire des Moulins, pale pink, G.M. 44:499; 

 Goliath, purplish lilac; Lovaniana, light pink; Macro- 

 stachya, light pink; Sibirica, purplish lilac; Trianon- 

 iana, bluish lilac. Red: Aline Mocqueris, dark red; 

 Charles X (Caroli), dark lilac-red, A.F. 12:1076. F. 

 1873, p. 76; Marlyensis, sometimes called Rubra de 



3760. Syringa villosa. 

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3759. Syringa viiiosa. 



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Marley, lilac-red; Rubra insignis, purplish red. Dark 

 purple: Philemon; Ludwig Spaeth (Andenken an Lud- 

 wig Spaeth, Louis Spaeth), very large panicles, the best 

 of the dark varieties; Negro, deep violet-purple; Congo, 

 deep wine red. 



DOUBLE-FLOWERED LILACS. White: Madame Abel 

 Chatenay, compact panicles; Madame Casimir-Perier, 

 large graceful panicles, one of the 

 best; Madame Lemoine, large fls. in 

 dense panicles; Obelisque; Virginite, 

 white and pink. Blue, lilac, or pink: 

 Alphonse Lavalle, bluish lilac, A.F. 

 12:1077; Belle de Nancy, fls. pink 

 with white center; Charles Baltet, 

 lilac-pink; Condorcet, blue, A.F. 12: 

 1074; Doyen Keteleer, lilac-blue; Jean 

 Bart, pinkish violet; Lamarck, pale 

 lilac, large, rather loose panicles; 

 Lemoinei, lilac-pink, B. H. 

 28:174; Leon Simon, chang- 

 ing from pinkish to bluish 

 lilac. Gt. 43:1407; Maxime 

 Cornu, pinkish lilac; Michel 

 Buchner, pale lilac, large and 

 very double fls.; President 

 Carnot, pale blue. Purple: 

 Charles Joly, dark purplish 

 red, one of the darkest ; Comte 

 Horace de Choiseul, lilac-pur- 

 ple; La Tour d'Auvergne, vio- 

 let-purple. 



The lilacs have been favor- 

 ite forcing plants in France 

 for more than a century and are nowadays among the 

 most important cut-flowers during the winter season in 

 France as well as in Germany and England. They are 

 on the market from the end of September until they 

 bloom outdoors. Charles X is considered one of the 

 very best for forcing. Marlyensis, Marie Legraye, Alba 

 virginalis, Ludwig Spaeth, and other varieties are also 

 good for forcing. Of the double-flowered varieties the 

 following have proved adapted for forcing: Madame 

 Casimir-Perier, Madame Lemoine, Charles Baltet, 

 Jean Bart, Leon Simon, S. chinensis duplex, and others. 

 Either grafted plants or plants on their own roots are 

 used. Both force equally well, but grafted lilacs can be 

 grown into plants well set with flower-buds and suited 

 For forcing in two or three years, while plants grown 

 from cuttings require four to six years. Marlyensis is 

 always used on its own roots and propagated either by 

 seeds, cuttings, or division. Special attention must be 

 given to pruning in order to have well-branched plants 

 of good compact habit (see Fig. 1555, Vol. Ill, p. 

 1265). The lilac has nothing like the commercial impor- 

 tance for forcing in America that it has in Europe, but 

 the appreciation of it for winter bloom is on the increase 

 in this country. 



Lilacs are generally forced in pots, being potted usu- 

 ally in July or in the fore part of August, that they may 

 fill the pots with new roots before winter. Some grow- 

 ers pot the plants in spring or in the preceding fall. This 

 practice is of especial advantage if the plants are 

 intended for very early forcing. These early potted 

 plants are then plunged into the ground outdoors, 

 mulched, well watered and regularly manured; after 

 June, when the young growth is almost finished, only 

 enough water is given to prevent wilting. When the 

 flower-buds have been formed, more water is given 

 until they have reached their full size. It is essential 

 to keep the plants rather dry in fall, so that the wood 

 may ripen thoroughly and early. When the leaves have 

 fallen off, the plants are stored away in convenient 

 places, where they are sheltered from severe frost. 

 Sometimes the lilac, especially S. marlyensis, is forced 

 from balls of earth which are not potted, but this does 

 not always give satisfactory results. 



