Lilacgro or how we propagate, grow and sell Lilacs at the Retail plant sale and mail order. Send me your phone number in an email and I will call you back because its hard for me to do a lot of typing (include a good time to call). If you have any questions contact me. Clicking on an image will often open a larger version that may be saved as wallpaper or studied more closely. Links at bottom of page.
Pictures include; cuttings, being potted, a couple years later flowering and being labeled, being divided while dormant, and available for mail order (pictures shown below with explanation).
maygrowingcrop086small.jpg,
We buy cuttings from nurseries that prepare liners (these small plants that nurseries plant in lines shown above and below)...
maybelledenancyfrenchlilacsmall.jpg,
We also take softwood cuttings from large previously identified flowering plants that we have cut back in early Spring for that purpose...
maymichellebuchnetfrenchlilacsmall.jpg
In this case we use a white paint pen on the black pots........
maymmelemoinefrenchlilacsmall.jpg,
It takes several years for these little ones to get large enough to start bearing flowers that will truly indicate if they are what we have labeled them to be (and if not we will label them as what they really are)...........
juneweek4pottinglilacssmall.jpg
We pot the rooted cuttings into 2 or 3 gallon pots..........
lilacsplacedinfieldsmall.jpg,
and place them in the field under drip line..........
newlilacrowsmall.jpg
Several years later when they are around waist high and the first few start to flower we label them with a variety name and take them to be sold at the plant sale.
floweringcropagincourtbeautysmall.jpg
When they flower I label them with an individually numbered yellow label, the variety name usually printed on the label with a paint pen, or if not, on the side of the pot......
decemberlilacsforcuttingssmall.jpg, lilacsfordivisionsmall.jpg
Plants that flowered this spring (but did not sell during the plant sale) are grouped near the house where we can easily bring them inside, cut them back and divide once they are dormant usualy in December or March.......
marchlilacdividessmall.jpg
First we divide them........
marchlilacdividingsmall.jpg
Then we cut them back.........
lilacsbymailsmall.jpg
Lilacs that have been divided will have a price sticker stuck to the pot once they start growing vigorously usually sometime in May.
10044ludwigspaethsmall.jpg,
As they outgrow their pots we will transplant into 2 gallon, 3 gallon and 7 gallon pot sizes. Many potential customers will contact me asking for availability of the variety they are interested in.
10045ludwigspaethsmall.jpg
maylilacwalksmall.jpg
floweringcropludwigspaethsmall.jpg
I take many pictures in the fields of Lilacs about to flower or as they flower........
floweringcropagincourtbeautysmall.jpg
Usually what we originally thought was just one variety proves to be several so I label each flowering plant with a locking label that we have written on with a paint pen.........
compareagincourttoclarkssmall.jpg
I take pictures comparing one variety with another ('Agincourt beauty' to 'Clarks Giant')............
compareagincourttomongessmall.jpg
Comparison allows us to see where one may be redder or more purply than another..........
floweringcropaucubaefoliasmall.jpg
Often when they first start to flower only a couple do it........
floweringcropbelledenancysmall.jpg
I take other pictures of plants just starting to bud..........
maybelledenancyflowersmall.jpg
Continue on and look at all the pictures...........
maydarknightflowersmall.jpg
floweringcropjamesmacfarlanesmall.jpg
We added 'James Macfarlane' in responce to a local request.
floweringcropkrasavitsamoskvysmall.jpg
Our 'Krasavitsa moskvy' are way overgrown and so we cut several back each year.......
floweringcropmmelemoinesmall.jpg
Mme Lemoine started flowering in 2013............
floweringcropmichelbuchnersmall.jpg
Michel Buchner started to flower in 2012..........
maymmelemoineflowersmall.jpg
floweringcropmongesmall.jpg
I dont think this is really Monge but we have a large plant we know is monge that we are taking cutting from as of 2014........
floweringcropnadezhdasmall.jpg
Nadezhda is flowering heavily in 2013 so we will probably have many one gallons to mail order from now on. As we divide each one we will return one to the field for each one we make available mailorder.
maynadezhdaflowersmall.jpg
floweringcroppocahontassmall.jpg
A few 'Pocahontas' flowered in 2013 and so we will start taking those and dividing them; one into one gallon for mail order and one into 3 gallon to return to the field.
floweringcropprimrosesmall.jpg
floweringcroppurpleglorysmall.jpg
floweringcropsarahsandssmall.jpg
purpleglory10009small001.jpg &
purpleglory10009small005.jpg
cuttingsagincourtbeautysmall.jpg
Above and below are two pictures that are good examples of the 1 gallon size Lilacs we sell mail-order for $15 each as of June 2014. We grow lilacs in the fields until they are large enough to flower proving they are what we think they are then label them and sell them during the plant sale. The following December or March we divide any we didn't sell (Lilacs can be divided when they are dormant), potting them into 1, 2 or 3 gallon pots that we sell mail-order or return to the field to grow on. As we sort plants from the plant sale to be divided I take a picture of the large plants of each variety and save it to the varieties cuttings picture (after its divided we will over-write with a new picture and when they start to actively grow in spring replace with that picture).
cuttingsludwigspaethsmall.jpg
We wont start selling them until they are actively growing.
plantsbylargeprioritymailsmall.jpg
We can send 2 one gallon potted plants in this size for around $20.00 postage and handling as of June 2014.
Contact me with any questions.
I propagate and grow plants that are locally HARDY, DISEASE RESISTANT, VIGOROUS and FRAGRANT to sell during our Retail Plant Sale , Mail Order or by Appointment. We grow Classic Lilacs mostly those that have flowers that look purple or are double. Disease Resistant Roses including; Alba Roses, Gallica Roses, Damask Roses, Centifolia Roses, Hybrid Rugosa Roses, Climbing Roses & Rambler Roses, Roses with small flowers, Old Garden Roses mentioned in literature. Native Azaleas and Rhododendrons including Pinxterbloom azalea or R. nudiflorum / R. periclymenoides, and Rosebay rhododendron or R. maximum. We also grow many hardy Blueberry Bushes including native blueberry V. corrymbosum (Highbush Blueberry), V angustifolium (Lowbush Blueberry) and Half High Blueberry bushes that are a super hardy hybrid of highbush and lowbush. Espalier Trained fruit Trees including; Step over or Horizontal T trained Apple trees, Pear trees and Crabapple trees. We propagate and grow other plants including Mockorange. I add new pictures to this months newsletter every week; January February March April May 1 to 15 May 16 to 31 June week #1 June week #2 June week #3 June last days July August September October November December Contact me!
Roseraie page shows how I propagate and grow Roses.