WCAX.COM Local Vermont News, Weather and Sports-Some lilacs to bounce back

Burlington, Vermont - June 9, 2011

Sharon Meyer: Well these lilacs still smell good, but they're not looking so hot anymore.

Garden Expert Charlie Nardozzi: Well yes, it's been kind of a sad lilac season. You know it was raining when they were in full bloom and now they're kind of going by. But, if you haven't got enough lilacs, there's a solution.

Meyer: Really?

Nardozzi: There are re-blooming varieties of lilacs on the market now.

Meyer: You don't have to wait until next year?

Nardozzi: You don't have to wait until next year! Here's a couple of good ones right here.

The first one is Josie, it grows up to be about 4-5 feet tall, and it has a nice bush form unlike these French hybrids which get really tall. This will stay busy. And it has fragrant flowers, and it will bloom in the spring, take a little time off, you know take a summer break, and then it will come back mid to end of summer and bloom right until frost.

Meyer: Nice! 

Nardozzi: It's a beautiful one! And then there's another one that's a new one, it's called "Bloomerang"!

Meyer: I like that! Bloomerang! Very clever.

Nardozzi: Same idea as Josie-- gets a little bit bigger. More like 6 feet tall. Nice round shape, it's a species cross with four different species. And this one is powdery mildew resistant.

Meyer: Nice.

Nardozzi: So that is not a concern later on in the season. But both of these, if they're going to bloom well, need to be dead-headed. So after they're done flowering here in the spring, you have about 6 weeks to prune your lilacs, you want to come through and just dead head the spent flowers. And after you dead head them, these varieties will come back and bloom for you again at the end of the summer and into the fall.

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