Syringa vulgaris "Sensation"

• Type: Lilac
• Latin name: Syringa vulgaris
• Cultivar: ‘Sensation’
• Light: sunny
• Winter hardiness: USDA 3–7

Planting Plant in spring (late April – May) or autumn (September) in a sunny or partly shaded spot with fertile, well-drained soil; wet spots with standing water are unsuitable. Dig a hole twice as wide as the pot, mix the excavated soil with compost, set the plant at the same depth it grew in the pot and water generously. Space plants 2–3 m (1.5 m for dwarf cultivars) apart.

Watering Water a young plant regularly for the first two years and more often in dry spells; an established shrub is fairly drought-tolerant and needs watering only in long dry periods. Mulch the soil with bark or wood chips.

Pruning Prune straight after flowering: remove faded flower heads, dead and weak branches; rejuvenate old shrubs gradually by removing a third of the old stems a year. Flower buds form on last year's shoots.

Feeding and winter care Feed in spring with compost or an organic fertiliser and, if needed, with a complex fertiliser in spring – early summer; give no nitrogen in autumn. The shrub is hardy in Estonia; protect a young plant in its first winter with mulch and spruce boughs if needed.