1760 



SYRINGA 



SYRINGA 



2450. Syringa villosa. 



(X 1-5.) 



The Lilacs are very showy in bloom, especially when 

 massed in groups, and tnese as a rule are the more 

 effective the fewer different varieties they contain. The 

 mixing of species and varieties differing in habit and 

 blooming season only spoils the effect, and so does too 

 great a variety of colors. Some species, as the tree-like 

 S. Japonica, S. Pekinensis and S. 

 villosa, are very handsome as single 

 specimens on the lawn. S. Japonica 

 is the only tree of the genus; it at- 

 tains a height of 30 ft. S. vulgaris, 

 Amurensis and Pekinensis some- 

 times grow into small trees or at 

 least large shrubs 10-20 ft. high. S. 

 Persica is the smallest species and 

 seldom exceeds a few feet. The first 

 in bloom is S. oblata, followed closely 

 by S. vulgaris, CJiinensis, pubes- 

 cens, Persica, villosa and Josikwa ; 

 after the middle of June S. 

 Amurensis and Pekinensis 

 come into bloom, followed at 

 the last by S. Japonica, 

 which blooms in the North 

 in the beginning of July. S. 

 Amurensis and Pekinensis 

 sometimes bloom sparingly 

 a second time in fall. The 

 foliage is bright green and 

 handsome, but drops com- 

 paratively early in fall, 

 especially in the case of 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, Microsphiera alni, late in summer often covers 

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

 and 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 

 as profusely as the single ones; they also remain mostly 

 ciwarfer and have a more compact habit. The faded 

 fls. 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. ,T. Stewart suggests 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 vars. are the follow- 

 ing: 



SINGLE-FLOWERED LILACS. 



White: Alba grandiflora; Alba pyramidalis; Fran 

 Bertha Dammann, A. P. 12:1078; Madame Moser; Marie 

 Legraye, one of the very best, B.H. 29:135; Princess 

 Marie. 



Blue, lilacorpink: Ambroise Verschaffelt, pale pink; 

 Dr. Lindley, pinkish lilac, F.S. 14:1481; Ge"ant des ba- 

 tailles, bluish lilac; Geheimrath Heyder, light lilac; 

 Gigantea, bluish red; Gloire des Moulins, pale pink; 

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

 stachya, light pink (Princess Alexandria is a favorite 

 variety of this class in America) ; Sibirica, purplish 

 lilac; Trianoniana, bluish lilac. 



Red: Aline Mocqueris, dark red; Charles X (Caroli), 

 dark lilac-red, A.F. 12:1076. F. 1873, p. 76; Marlyen- 

 sis, sometimes called Rubra de Marley, lilac-red; Jtubra 

 insignis, purplish red. 



Dark purple: Philemon; Ludwig Spiith (Andenken 

 an Ludwig Spath, Louis Spath), very large panicles, 

 the best of the dark vars 



.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 pani- 

 cles; Obe'lisque; Virginite', white and pink. 



Blue, lilac or pink: Alphonse Lavalle, bluish lilac, 

 A.F. 12:1077; Belle de Nancy, fls. pink with white cen- 

 ter; 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; Le"on 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-purple; La 

 Tour d'Auvergne, violet-purple. 



The Lilacs have been favorite 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, A Iba 

 virginalis, Ludwig Spath and other varieties are 

 also good for forcing. Of the double -fld. varieties 

 the following have proved adapted for forcing: Mad- 

 ame Casimir-Perier, Madame Lemoine, Charles Baltet, 

 Jean Bart, Lon Simon, 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. Marly- 

 ensis is always used on its own roots and prop, 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. 851, Vol. II, p. 600). 

 The Lilac has nothing like the commercial importance 

 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 forepart of August, that they may 

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



2451, Syringa villosa. 



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 ovitdoors, 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 



