Syringa vulgaris
common lilac

Notes:

Spreading with age and can get leggy. The species is subject to powdery mildew (purely cosmetic), but cultivars and hybrids can offer improved resistance.

Sunset claims intolerance of strongly acidic soil, but I cannot find anyone else backing this up. Let's just say it prefers circumneutral soil and leave it at that. Sandy soil tolerance is also debated (USDA vs. NCSU & Cal Poly).

NCSU recommends eating the flowers raw or battering and frying.

Despite not being native to the eastern USA, Doug Tallamy lists lilacs as supporting 35 native species of butterflies/moths, fourth among all non-native genera.

I refuse to attempt to treat the countless cultivars here, as life is too short. However, here are some that Druse claims to be extra-fragrant: 'Andenken an Ludwig Spaeth', 'Belle de Nancy', 'Charles Joly', 'Declaration', 'Hulda', 'Katherine Havemeyer', 'Krasavitsa Moskvy', 'Leon Gambetta', 'Madame Florent Stepman', 'Madame Lemoine', 'Maiden's Blush', 'Mechta' (spicy), 'Miss Ellen Willmott', 'Mrs. Edward Harding', 'Paul Thirion', 'Primrose', 'Sensation', 'Victor Lemoine', 'Wedgwood Blue', 'Wonderblue', and 'Yankee Doodle'. 'President Lincoln', on the other hand, has a "lighter, soapier" scent.

Sources: OSU, Sunset, Stoecklein, Missouri BG, UConn, Cal Poly, NCSU, USDA, Druse.

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Tags:

attracts:bees
attracts:butterflies
attracts:hummingbirds
attracts:larval host
clay tolerant
compacted soil intolerant
deadheading recommended
deer resistant
drought tolerant
easy to grow
edible flowers
exposure:full sun
exposure:part shade
form:multi-trunked
form:shrub
fragrant flowers
full sun preferred
habit:oval
habit:rounded
habit:spreading/wide
habit:upright
habit:vase
persistence:deciduous
pest/disease sensitive
pruning required
rich soil preferred
roots:low damage potential
salt tolerant
showy flowers
stoloniferous/suckering
type:broadleaf
use:border
use:cut flowers
use:foundation
use:hedge
use:naturalizing
use:screen
use:specimen
water:regular
well-drained soil required
wind tolerant


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