Lilacs at the Arnold Arboretum
Lilacs for the New England Garden
Lilacs offer many opportunities to the garden designer. Plant a flowering hedge of the compact Syringa meyeri 'Palibin', or, for a striking accent, choose a standard form. Place a bench in the fragrant shelter of 'Miss Kim,' or bring a touch of New England tradition to a modern landscape with the great French hybrids 'Mme Lemoine' or 'President Grevy'. And remember that lilacs span a rainbow of colors, from rich reds, blues, and purples to romantic pinks, whites, mauve,. and the delicate, creamy yellow of 'Primrose'.
The Arnold Arboretum's research and evaluation program includes an annual survey to determine the most successful lilacs for New England gardens. The best of the best lilacs, in our definition, should be highly fragrant, display many flowers at eye (and nose) level, resist mildew and leafroll necrosis, and produce new growth that does not obscure the flowers and enough suckers to replace old or injured stems. Ideally, the gardener should be able to find the perfect lilac in every flower color, for every season of bloom, in both single and double form.
The following lilacs reach peak bloom during New England's traditional lilac time-the second through the fourth week of May. This list includes only cultivars of Syringa vulgaris and the early flowering S. x hyacinthiflora, which have the general appearance of the traditional or common lilac.
Syringa vulgaris Cultivars
Key: single flowered (S); double flowered (D); high degree of fragrance (F); early blooming hybrid (E)
| Violet | 'Henri Robert' (D), 'Mechta' (S) |
| "Blue" | 'Madame Charles Souchet' (S), 'Maurice Barrès' (S), 'President Lincoln' (S, F) |
| Lilac | 'Alphonse Lavallée' (D), 'Hippolyte Maringer' (D), 'Hugo Koster' (S), 'Hyazinthenflieder' (S), 'Michel Buchner' (D) |
| Purple | 'Adelaide Dunbar' (D, F), 'Paul Hariot' (D), 'President Roosevelt' (S, F), 'Sarah Sands' (S), 'Sensation' (S), 'Zulu' (S) |
| "Yellow" | 'Primrose' (S) |
| Magenta | 'Charles Joly' (D, F), 'Glory' (S), 'Mme. F. Morel' (S), 'Paul Thirion' (D), 'Ruhm von Horstenstein' (S, F) |
| "Pink" | 'Charm' (S), 'General Sherman' (S, F), 'Katherine Havemeyer' (D, F), 'Lucie Baltet' (S), 'Mme. Antoine Buchner' (D), 'Scotia' (S), 'Virginité' (D) |
| White | 'Jan van Tol' (S), 'Jeanne d'Arc' (D), 'Joan Dunbar' (D), 'Krasavitsa Moskvy' (D), 'Marie Legraye' (S), 'Maude Notcutt' (S), 'Miss Ellen Willmott' (D), 'Mme. Lemoine' (D), 'St. Margaret' (S) |
Syringa x hyacinthiflora Cultivars
Key: single flowered (S); double flowered (D); high degree of fragrance (F); early blooming hybrid (E)
| Violet | 'Louvois' (S) |
| "Blue" | 'Blanche Sweet' (S, E),'Doctor Chadwick' (S), 'Laurentian' (S) |
| Lilac | 'Asessippi' (S, F, E), 'Excel' (S, F, E) , 'Nokomis' (S, E) |
| "Pink" | 'Catinat' (S, F, E), 'Churchill' (S, E), 'Scotia' (S), 'Vauban' (D, F, E) |
| White | 'Sister Justina' (S, F) |
Special Recommendation
Syringa x chinensis 'Lilac Sunday'
This new cultivar from the Arnold Arboretum was grown by our plant propagator
Jack Alexander from seed supplied by the Beijing Botanical Garden. The
pale purple flowers are fragrant, appearing in mid May, and offering an
abundant display annually. Although the individual flowers are small,
they are produced in panicles not only at the branch tips, like the common
lilac, but also from the lateral buds. The plant has a graceful arching
habit and is expected to attain a size similar to that of other cultivars
of S. x chinensis, about 12 feet by 12 feet. Please visit
the Arboretum during our annual Lilac Sunday festival to view this unique plant.
Ten Favorite Uncommon Lilacs
Our "best" list, shown above, includes only plants with the general appearance
of the traditional or common lilac, namely, cultivars of Syringa vulgaris
and the early flowering S. x hyacinthiflora. Hybrids and
selections of the species listed below, on the other hand, have leaves,
flowers, and fragrance that are unusual and that offer adventurous gardeners
the opportunity to break with tradition.
Syringa protolaciniata (syn. S. laciniata)
S. meyeri
S. meyeri 'Palibin'
S. pubescens var. microphylla 'Superba' (syn. S. microphylla
'Superba')
S. pubescens ssp. patula 'Miss Kim' (syn. S. patula
'Miss Kim')
S. reticulata ssp. pekinensis (syn. S. pekinensis)
S. x prestoniae 'Agnes Smith'
S. x prestoniae 'Miss Canada'
S. pubescens ssp. pubescens (syn. S. pubescens)
Adapted from a brochure prepared by John H. Alexander III and Nan Blake Sinton, "Lilacs and the Arnold Arboretum," Winter 1990.