May Lilac Time 



that destroy its symmetry should be shortened suf- 

 ficiently to restore a proper balance as soon as the 

 flowers have faded. If really severe pruning is thought 

 necessary, it should be undertaken in March, so that 

 the season of growth may be as long as possible; one 

 season's crop of blossom is then sacrificed. A few 

 remarkably fine sorts are Pink Pearl, pink ; Broughtoni, 

 rose-red ; Catawbiense, mauve ; Charles Dickens, bright 

 red ; Gomer Waterer, almost white ; Lady Clementina 

 Mitford, peach shade ; Lord Palmerston, rose-red ; Mrs. 

 E. C. Stirling, pale pink ; Sappho, white with dark 

 blotches ; Vauban, mauve with yellow blotches ; and 

 John Waterer, crimson. 



The Lilac. Although Syringa is the correct botanical 

 name of Lilac, it is used by most - amateurs to refer to 

 the Mock Orange, which is really Philadelphus. There 

 is no greater favourite among flowering shrubs than 

 Lilac ; the fragrant blossomed bushes are one of the chief 

 glories of an English garden in May. The complaint 

 is often made that Lilacs do not blossom satisfactorily, 

 and the cause may usually be traced to incorrect pruning, 

 or to neglect of pruning altogether. The proper time 

 to carry out this task is when the flowers have faded ; 

 sucker growths, those that develop from the ground 

 level, must be removed, and old and weakly branches 

 should be cut out. It is only by keeping the stems 

 fairly thinly disposed that a satisfactory blossoming 

 is obtained. Trees which have been allowed to become 

 a tangle of weak shoots will need drastic treatment, but 

 if correct treatment is practised from the first most of 

 the necessary pruning may be done by means of dis- 

 budding in early summer. Shoots that are ill placed, 

 or for which there is not sufficient space, ought to be 

 rubbed off while small ; thus the remaining branches 

 will have all the better chance of developing and matur- 

 ing. It is best to obtain plants that have been raised 

 from layers ; they are usually healthier and longer lived 



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