Plant of the Day: Common Lilac - Syringa vulgaris 'Marie Frances'
Photo of Common Lilac - Syringa vulgaris 'Marie Frances'

Photo courtesy of Missouri Botanical Garden

Something About Lilac


The lilac is multi-stemmed (it suckers--sends up new stems from its roots), and it branches freely, so it has a twiggy canopy. Each main twig ends in a panicle (a cluster of flowers) that can be 7 inches long with over a hundred flowers. The flower count on one mature shrub is in the thousands.


The flower colors range from white to near-blue and deep purple. The old favorite ‘President Lincoln’ is blue, ‘Edith Cavell’ and ‘Beauty of Moscow’ are white. There are doubles (flowers that have extra petals) such as ‘Mme. Lemoine’ (white). There’s a highly-prized picotee called ‘Sensation’ (the flower petals are lilac edged with white). Yellow has not appeared (as it has not in magnolias), though some folks claim ‘Primrose’ and ‘White Swan’ are yellowish (the buds are yellowish but the flowers?).


The common lilac is one of the marker plants of the National Phenology Network, which gathers the observations of scientists, educators and volunteers to measure the effect of climate changes on the life cycles of plants. The observations include yearly events such as first leaf and first flower. Both are coming earlier for the lilac and the network’s other indicator plants. For a good introduction to phenology, why it matters, how to join in, see this video.


By Mark Kane - the Groundskeeper, YourGardenShow.com

Copyright © 2012 YourGardenShow.com

Want to read more about this plant and other varieties? Click here for the Common Lilac - Syringa vulgaris 'Marie Frances' Plant Page!

Plant Photo Tagging - How it Works

Video by Tom Finerty, founder YourGardenShow.com

Plant Photo Tagging allows you to turn any garden photo into a rich tapestry of what you have planted. It’s fun, informative, and helpful to others visiting your garden. As you photo tag, you can easily add plant names from our database and/or make notes about anything you’d like. To get started, sign-in and go to your Garden.


Click on any image in your garden's slideshow Carousel to get to full-view mode. Click on the “Tag” icon just below your photo and you are ready to tag! Simply click and drag your mouse over a plant or area you’d like to highlight or tag. A pop-up box will appear and ask for either a plant name or a note - add one or both, then click “tag” and you’ve just tagged your garden!


Write and tell us your suggestion for a "How it Works" video:
how-it-works@yourgardenshow.com


For more info contact: help@yourgardenshow.com

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Plant of the Day archive

Siberian squill

Snowdrop

Douglas fir

Norway spruce

Common Lilac 'Marie Frances'

Common Lilac 'Wedgwood Blue'

Manchurian lilac 'Miss Kim'

Red mulberry

White spruce

Striped squill

Scotch pine

Frazier fir

Colorado Spruce

Hardy Pecan

Asparagus

Beet

Brussels Sprouts

Globe Artichoke 'Imperial Star'

American Hazelnut

Black Alder

Seven-son flower

European larch

Maidenhair tree

Butterfly weed

Creeping Zinnia

Garlic 'Spanish Roja'

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Garlic 'Persian Star'

Garlic 'Asian Tempest'

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Aster 'Purple Dome'

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Pumpkin

Gourd

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Gooseberry

Dwarf pear

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Potato

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American elderberry

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Sweet Potato

Sedum

Blackberry

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Japanese falsecypress

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Japanese Anemone

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Cilantro

Okra

Peppers 'Cal Wonder Orange'

'Cherry Pink' Tomatoes