{"id":24853,"date":"2024-09-13T12:53:59","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T16:53:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/?p=24853"},"modified":"2024-09-13T12:53:59","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T16:53:59","slug":"can-you-help-identify-the-problem-with-the-lilacs-on-my-property","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/09\/13\/can-you-help-identify-the-problem-with-the-lilacs-on-my-property\/","title":{"rendered":"Can you help identify the problem with the lilacs on my property?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Question:<\/h3>\n
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Two lilac trees on my property have some disease or pesticide infestation. Can you help me identify the problem and offer a solution?\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Answer:<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional<\/em><\/span><\/div>\n
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Lilacs commonly suffer foliage fungal infestations, especially in hot, wet summers, and it definitely looks as though that’s what’s going on here. Typically, they are not fatal to the shrub and can be mitigated by adjusting the growing conditions and your management practices; fungicides are rarely needed, except in the cases of severe infection on prized specimens. There isn’t much you can do about the appearance this season, so be thinking ahead to next year.<\/p>\n

Because fungus spores proliferate in still, moist air, you want to open up the canopy a bit by removing and disposing of (not composting) badly affected branches, cleaning up any fallen plant debris beneath the lilac (many of these fungal pathogens can overwinter on dead tissue), and make sure you\u00a0properly prune the shrub<\/a>. If they haven’t been pruned in some time, the shrubs may benefit from what is known as renewal pruning (learn more\u00a0here<\/a>), which is basically removing 1\/3 or so of the oldest stems right at the base of the plant over 2-3 seasons–this makes the lilac less dense and encourages the crown to put out new shoots. Please keep in mind that lilacs sets flower buds in the current season for next season’s bloom, so pruning at this point may give you a less than optimal show next season, but after that it will bounce back. If you do any supplemental irrigation for them (i.e., any watering other than rainfall), try to direct the water at the soil beneath to avoid water sitting on the leaves.<\/p>\n

You might also consider getting your soil tested through the\u00a0UMaine Soil Analytical Lab<\/a>\u00a0and consulting the best practices management recommendations for lilacs\u00a0here<\/a>. These suggestions are aimed at making sure the plant is a healthy and vigorous as possible, which helps it weather these kinds of infections. There is a good further discussion of fungal foliage conditions and their treatment in lilacs in\u00a0this Q&A from Ask Extension<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If the plants don’t improve using the above advice, or if you remain concerned, you can always contact the\u00a0UMaine Plant Disease Diagnostic Lab<\/a>\u00a0with photos and\/or physical samples. While there is a small fee for their service, lab testing is inherently more reliable than visual evaluation.<\/p>\n

Happy gardening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Two lilac trees on my property have some disease or pesticide infestation. Can you help me identify the problem and offer a solution?\u00a0 Answer: Jonathan Foster, Home Horticulture Outreach Professional Lilacs commonly suffer foliage fungal infestations, especially in hot, wet summers, and it definitely looks as though that’s what’s going on here. Typically, they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[199,204],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24853","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ask","category-pests"],"yoast_head":"\nCan you help identify the problem with the lilacs on my property? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/extension.umaine.edu\/gardening\/2024\/09\/13\/can-you-help-identify-the-problem-with-the-lilacs-on-my-property\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Can you help identify the problem with the lilacs on my property? - Cooperative Extension: Garden and Yard - University of Maine Cooperative Extension\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Question: Two lilac trees on my property have some disease or pesticide infestation. 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