Syringa PUBESCENS 'MICROPHYLLA'

Syringa PUBESCENS 'MICROPHYLLA' - Littleleaf lilac, Syringa pubescens 'Microphylla'.

Lilac is a genus in the family Oleaceae, comprising about thirty species of shrubs and small trees. They grow in Eastern and Southeastern Europe and in Asia, from the Balkans to Japan.

The plants are deciduous, with opposite simple or pinnate leaves and tubular four-petaled flowers gathered in large panicles. The fruit is a dry two-valved capsule with winged seeds.

Littleleaf lilac originates from northern and central China, where it grows on rocky slopes and in shrub thickets. From the familiar common lilac, it differs by leaves half the size, looser inflorescences, and a noticeably more compact bush.

Littleleaf lilac is a spreading shrub 1.5-2.5 m (4.9-8.2 ft) high with thin pubescent shoots. The leaves are small, ovate, 2-4 cm (0.8-1.6 in) long, pubescent beneath.

The flowers are small, lilac-pink, with a very strong sweet fragrance, gathered in loose panicles 5-10 cm (2-4 in) long. The main feature of the species is repeat flowering: the primary wave occurs in May and June, and in late summer and early autumn the bush blooms a second time.

Lilac seeds are small, flat, winged. Before sowing, they are soaked for 12-24 hours in a weak solution of potassium permanganate or in a solution of growth stimulants: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon. Stratification is mandatory: swollen seeds are mixed with moist sand and kept at 2-5 °C (36-41 °F) for 2-3 months.

Sowing is carried out in early spring after stratification, into a loose substrate of peat and sand, to a depth of about 1 cm (0.4 in). The crops are moistened from a spray bottle, covered with a transparent lid or placed in a mini-greenhouse, and germinated in light at a temperature of 18-22 °C (64-72 °F).

Seedlings appear in 3-6 weeks, unevenly. Crops are ventilated daily, and condensation is removed. Pricking out is performed after 2-3 pairs of true leaves form; seedlings are planted out into their permanent place in the second year. Lilac grown from seed begins flowering in years 4-5.

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The plant needs an open sunny location; in shade, flowering weakens.

The species is winter-hardy and does not require shelter in temperate zones. It is beneficial to mulch young plantings during their first winter.

Watering is moderate, mandatory in drought. Lilac cannot tolerate water stagnation, so lowlands and areas with a high groundwater table are unsuitable for it.

The substrate should be loose, permeable, neutral or slightly alkaline. Acidic soils are limed, and sand is added to heavy ground.

Feeding with complex fertilizer is applied in spring, and after the first flowering - with phosphorus-potassium fertilizer to support the second wave.

Faded panicles are pruned immediately; otherwise, the shrub expends energy on seeds. Formative pruning is carried out immediately after the first flowering.