Allotments 4 All

Yesterday I spotted that a lot of the new growth - not all - on a large lilac in the hedge has wilted. Nothing else that I can see has been affected. I'm guessing frost damage, but has anyone else seen anything of the sort?

As sufferer of next door's lilac once, my first thought would be someone poisoning the suckers that come up in somebody else's garden.

I had thought of that, but my neighbour has just reappeared after being ill for the last year, and I can't see a sign of anything suffering or, for that matter, being touches at all, in that corner on his side. If it had been poisoned or suffered root damage, surely every leaf would be wilting, not just some.

Syringa is an early bloomer, I have not noticed frost damage in the past, neither have any of the trees around my stompin ground and we have had a few unusually late frosts for this area.

this might help

http://gardening.yardener.com/SolvingLilacProblems.html

Not a very good pic, but you can see what's happening.

Pest or Disease Robert?

Now you have a predicament. If you prune back the damaged bits you will cause the main plant to throw up even more suckers. If you leave them on you will make what looks like an unsightly tree even more of an eye sore. Best thing to do all round is to cut it off at ground level and pour some stump rot on the bit in the ground.

As you gather I am not a lover of lilac. Due mainly for it's tendencies to grow in other peoples gardens. Also from getting a clip around the ear when I was a nipper for taking some indoors. (bad luck, some say)

I cut the suckers back periodically, apart from the ones growing in the hedge itself. There aren't many on my side since they were all growing in a pile of soil and rubbish that I cleared long ago. I wouldn't describe it as ugly, and it flowers nicely, though I don't expect to get anything this year! I just hope it recovers from whatever it is. I won't take it out as it's part of the boundary hedge, and it conceals a makeshift corrugated iron fence under the hawthorn behind it.