Lilac tree

[Cherryblossom200]

Hi everyone,

I'm currently designing my garden, it's currently a black canvas.

I found this article with the most beautiful lilac tree. It's 50 year old! I've googled lilac trees and they look nothing like the one in the photo. Is this a specific type of lilac tree? In the article it just says it's a Lilac tree..

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks 😊

I have a common white lilac which i think is about 40 years old, and it has gone "tree form" and is incredibly tall. It isnt quite as beautiful as the one in your photo, nor as large as it has been heavily pruned over the years.

Recently it caught a fungal disease and ive had to take out some old branches. I found it very gard to find advice on old lilac trees; most people seem to keep them more shrubby.

As the fungus has spread, ive realised i may lose the main trunk and so im allowing suckers to regrow - im about 4 years into this regeneration now, and guess what... ive got the makings of a shrubby lilac.

I think therefore it must be about how you prune to encourage a small number of branches to become trunks, and then decades of patience

Yes, @SchrodingersKettle is right. That’s a pretty standard lilac, just about 40 years old.

Ah ok! Thanks so much! It's absolutely beautiful 😍