PRESIDENT LINCOLN. S. A new single blue Lilac that is now show- 
ing up very fine. It is an American Lilac by Dunbar and is a rich 
clear blue. This is the blue Lilac which stood out so conspicuously 
in the great Lilac collection of Col. Plum as a real advance in blue 
Lilacs. A real blue. 2 to 3 ft., $5.00 
PRESIDENT LOUBET. D. Red. One of the very choicest. Medium 
height plant. Panicles appear rather small just as the florets begin to 
open but they slowly develop as the florets continue to open until 
they become immense. A bright red in the bud stage, but showing 
considerable white on the inner edge of the opened petal. 
3 to 4 ft., $5.00 
RUHM VON HORSTENSTEIN. S. A Lilac that produces blooms of the 
greatest size even on small bushes set out but two years. It is an even 
toned light red-purple. One of those self colors everyone likes. 
People marvel at the immense blooms of this variety on bushes not 
more than 4 feet high. Bloom so profuse some years as to almost 
hide the foliage. 2 to 3 ft., $4.00; 3 to 4 ft., $5.00 
SOUV. de LUDWIG SPAETH. S. Red. Although one of the oldest of 
the improved Lilacs still it is one of the very best Lilacs grown. It 
seems impossible to get a red that has so many good, and so few bad 
qualities as Ludwig Spaeth. Panicles long and held erect well out from 
the foliage. Color a brilliant intense rich purple-red, that holds up | 
well in the sun and lasts a long time. Bush large and a very profuse 
bloomer. A wonderful Lilac. 2 to 3 ft., $1.50; 3 to 4 ft., $2.00 
STADTGARTNER ROTHPLETZ. D: An upright growing shrub with 
long, cone-shaped panicles. A rich red-purple. Until recently Charles 
Joly has been our only good double red. We have in Stadtgartner 
Rothpletz another fine red, giving bloom later than Charles Joly. 
2 to 3 ft., $3.00; 3 to 4 ft., $3.50- 
VESTALE. S. One of the best and most graceful of all the single whites. 
Trusses very large at base, tapering gracefully to a point, making a 
true cone. Pure rich white. Will satisfy the most exacting. Many 
people admire very much the single white Lilac. Vestale is as fine a 
single white as can be found. Very graceful as a cut flower. 
Ztowsuit a o200 
VICTOR LEMOINE. D. This is about the most wonderful of all the 
French Lilacs. It is no wonder that Victor Lemoine, the originator, 
gave to it his own name. We class it as one of the three or four very 
best, if not the best. Florets are very double like little double Roses. 
These are gathered into panicles of the largest size, and the color 
effect is simply indescribable. The general effect is a soft rosy pink 
overlaid with a delicate blue-lavender. This is also one of the very 
latest to bloom. It is a self color. It is a great Lilac. Only a few to 
spare. 
WILLIAM ROBINSON. D. Invariably well liked. Very compact pan- 
icles, almost round. When florets are about to open, the bloom gives 
a very striking pinkish red effect which gives place to a lavender as 
the florets fully open and their reverse side turns back. Very much 
admired. 2 to 3 ft., $2.00; 3 to 4 ft., $2.50 

Our Lilac Display 
If you wish to see one of the finest displays of French Lilacs in the 
country, come to our nursery the last two weeks in May. You will 
see panicles of French Lilacs that actually measure 13 inches in 
length. Our Persian Hedge is well worth driving many miles to see. 
Our grounds are always open to visitors. At this same time you will 
also see hundreds of varieties of Iris in full bloom. 
Many people bring their cameras and take pictures of our Lilacs 
in their natural colors. Always bring a pair of old shoes along. 

[10} 

2 to 3 ft., $4.00; 3 to 4 ft., $5.00: 

Decaisne 
Hampstead, Ind., Feb. 22, 1942. 
“When it comes to Lilacs and Peonies. I do not believe anyone else can 
match you in the character and quality of the stock you furnish.”’—Compli- 
ment we received from a regular customer. 


Why Lilacs May Fail to Bloom 
We are asked a number of times during the course of the year, 
“Why do my Lilacs fail to bloom?” 
It is impossible to answer this question satisfactorily by letter. 
There are a number of reasons why Lilacs fail to bloom. We 
cannot tell which special reason is applicable in each individual 
case. We are giving a number of causes in this catalog.and leav- 
ing you to decide which of these fit your individual problem. 
We have no difficulty here at the nursery. Our plants are 
loaded with flowers each year and if your plants are not giving 
satisfactory bloom, some one of the following causes must be 
responsible. 
1. Your plants may not have been handled carefully enough when you made your 
planting. The roots may have been exposed to the air and some of the vitality of 
the plant weakened. A bundle of Lilacs comes to you and this bundle is often 
opened up and the plants separated and looked over. Then they are laid out in 
the sun or shade while the holes for them are dug and the planting goes on., The 
plants grow but they -received a setback from this exposure of, the roots and it 
often takes two or three years to overcome this mistreatment. 
2. It may be the roots were not spread out carefully and soil packed tightly 
about them at planting time. The roots may have become jammed in a cramped 
and twisted mass in the hole, and growth stunted. In filling in the hole dry dirt 
may have been pulled in over the roots and so reduced the vitality of the plant 
as to check its right growth for several years. 
3. The young plant may be planted so close to trees or larger shrubs as to rob 
it of much of its vitality. 
4. It may be in too much shade or in dry gravelly soil. Lilacs like a rich heavy 
soil but not a wet acid soil. 
5. It may be your plants are making altogether too much growth and that such 
growth needs checking. Or they may have formed a great mass of heavy branches 
from the ground with a tremendous branchy top growth and have reached a point 
where they have stopped going forward and produce no bloom. If your plants are 
making a very rapid growth, sending out long new shoots with no bloom, go 
through your plants about the middle of June and trim out about one-half of the 
new growth back to the old wood. This will have a tendency to cause blooming 
buds to set on the balance of the new growth for the next year. If your bushes 
have a great many branches from the ground and many short top branches go 
through your plants in March in the north or earlier in the South (before the sap 
starts) and cut out about one-half of the old branches to the ground. This will 
cause a new growth which no doubt will bring the plant into heavy blooming. 
_ Now any of the foregoing causes might be the reason your Lilacs are not bloom- 
ing. You are in a position to analyze your difficulty much better than we. We 
have no further information to offer. 


