The Garden Community for Garden Lovers
 

United Kingdom Gb

Hi,

I have a standard lilac tree and have taken a couple of rooting cuttings from it. will they become small standards also or grow into a large tree ?
Note: ( I's the one second from the left in the picture in the brown pot )



Dscf1288

Answers

 

It's all in the training Eddieoggy1. To get a standard tree you need to train the small treelet once it's rooted and growing well. I've never succeeded at this so I'd welcome an expert if they want to correct me, but I understand that you remove side shoots once the tree is close to the height you want the trunk to be and just keep the growth of the "lollipop" head.

I did this with a fuchsia one year but didn't have anywhere frost proof to keep it in, so though it survived it lost the "trunk" and stopped being a standard.

27 Jul, 2011

 

Althouhg they can grow pretty large, lilac,s are actually a shrub,and have a tendency to send up suckers, if you want to try and make a standard you would have to first select a leading shoot and remove any side shoots, when you get the trunk just a bit taller than the height you want pinch out the growing point, when shoots have developed from this, pinch out the growing tips again, carry on doing this and you will eventually get a standard, you will still have to remove any suckers,as it still wants to be a shrub, good luck, derekm
ps you probably wont get any flowers for a few years while you,re doing this

28 Jul, 2011

 

Its not possible to see from the photo, but is this a miniature lilac, which is sometimes grown as a standard but more often as a bush? The leaves look quite small for a full sized one. I think it would be easier to train a miniature as a standard than one of the big ones.

28 Jul, 2011

How do I say thanks?

Answer question

 

Previous question

« When is it ok to move camelia

 

Not found an answer?