Three Great Lilacs for Your Garden: Miss Kim, Bloomerang and Dwarf Korean

I’ve worked at Garden Centers for many years, and occasionally I would have a customer looking for shrubs to plant that would reveal they did not like the scent of Lilac flowers. What? I thought they were kidding. But I’m told some clubs revolve around their love of the smell of skunk. What?

Which reminds me of a funny story. My brother Mike, God rest his soul, was fond of telling the story of the time he hit a skunk while riding his motorcycle to work (now that I think about it, I was probably the one more fond of repeating the story). After hitting the skunk, he was thankful he did not lay the bike down. The skunk seemed secondary. As he walked into the commons area of offices, the heads began to turn. I suppose it’s like eating garlic; you don’t know you have bad breath until someone tells you. He departed early that morning. Pretty sure he tossed all the clothing he was wearing. The smell never really left the motorcycle....

Lilacs! What a contrast to the ole olfactory lobes, eh?

I love Lilacs. Miss Kim is my favorite variety.

• Fast growing
• An interesting crinkled elliptical-shaped leaf that picks up a plum fall color
• Beautiful lilac-colored blooms that fade to white
• A wonderful scent, as good as any lilac you’ll ever come across
• An important plant for various pollinators

Miss Kim is also very hardy and makes an excellent formal shrub if you shape it. Just make sure you only do the pruning directly after the flowers have finished blooming. The timing here will allow the plant to sprout some new growth and set flower bud for the next season; it takes a full year.

Unless, of course, skunk is your thing. Then, by all means, do your pruning in the spring before it blooms. You will still have some beautiful qualities to enjoy.

Like Robins, Lilacs are a sure sign that spring and summer have arrived!

There are many different types of lilacs. These shrubs are beautiful, fragrant, and easy to care for. Let's take a closer look at several.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kevin