Are these lilacs dead, then?

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I bought these two lilacs a couple of years or more ago from a garden centre, they were shin high and about £15 each, minimum. They did have a bit of greenery for a bit, though I'm not sure if I ever saw them flower. They weren't flowering when I bought them.

Not sure either flowered last spring at all. I had another white one, which I planted on the other side of the garden to get the sunlight, and that hasn't done much. It hasn't flowered. One tip I'd give based on my experience - don't get lilacs short, as they took ages to grow, I mean at the rate they went, it would take 10 or 15 years to get to 10ft or more, which was what I was aiming for. They got to about knee-high, double the original size but...

Naturally today I passed in the market a syringa vulgaris (lilac) in full flower and waist height, but at £35 it seems easy to just toss money away.

Neither of my lilacs is ready to snap like a twig, so there might be some sap in both, but no buds to speak of at all. When should I give up the ghost?

My lilac isn't in bloom yet - normally it's late spring/early summer.

Perhaps those in the garden centre have been forced?

Honestly, once they get going lilacs grow like stink. Just make sure that you don't make my mistake and overprune them. (They do come back, however.)

Unless you can't avoid it, only prune after they eventually flower.

Scratch a little of the bark away on one of the branches. If it is green it is alive, brown is dead. Even if one branch is dead doesn't mean the whole shrub is dead. Lilacs in full flower would be greenhouse grown. They normally flower in May.

My lilac is not blooming yet either. If there is green under the bark and some sap there is hope!

Thanks, everyone!

I've got one in a pot and had been thinking it looks like a bunch of dead sticks, but I looked at it again today and can see tiny new shoots just starting.

Yes me too; exciting isn’t it.

I see a few buds on those plants, so they're probably still just dormant. Like all lilacs are in the UK on March. The one you saw would probably not survive outdoors right now.

Lilacs flower on last year's growth, so only prune in the period immediately after the flowers have died. Once you see that there are buds at the tips of the branches, it's too late to prune (unless you don't mind having no flowers next year).