My three year old Lilac bush didn't bloom this year. Why?

Question

It's still growing and looks healthly.

Answer 1

The link below can answer any number of questions you might have about lilacs of all kinds. The reason for non blooming could be one of the answers.
Mine bloomed the first year I planted it and every year since then. EXCEPT this year it was ready to and we had a very late freeze.
Questions on: Lilacs
Ron Smith, Horticulturist, NDSU Extension Service
http://www.ext.nodak.edu/extnews/hortiscope/shrub/lilac.htm


When is the best time to trim our lilacs so we don't affect their flowering next year?
A: Right after they finish flowering this year!
The lack of flowering could be from overfertilization, improper pruning or too much shade. Flower buds for the next season are formed during the previous summer. In other words, the flower buds will form or not for 2008 sometime this summer, depending on whatever pruning is done or anything else that might prevent bud formation.
PS I'm a real old granny .

Answer 2

Hi, it is still too young mine din't bloom until it was five years old, don't worry it will bloom in the next 2 years, Heres a little secret: After a lilac blooms it produces little shoots which are attached to the root system of the mother lilac this will make your lilac alot more bushier. I hope this helps!

Answer 3

Lilacs (Syringa spp.) fail to bloom for a number of reasons. Your plant may not be mature enough to bloom. Many woody plants have to grow for several years before they are mature enough to produce flower buds.

Late spring frosts can kill flower buds. The plant will be fine, but few, if any, flowers will bloom normally. Sometimes only part of the bud is killed, and you still have a few flowers able to open on each bud cluster. Warm weather in March had spring moving along a little earlier than normal, until unusually cold weather in April damaged all that tender growth.

The location where your lilacs are planted could be another factor. Lilacs need full sun to bloom well. Too much shade can reduce flowering significantly, and deep shade will keep lilacs from blooming at all. Eight to ten hours of sun daily is ideal; six hours would suffice.

Well-drained soil is another consideration. Lilacs struggle along in poorly drained soil, or die outright. They expend so much energy trying to stay alive that they might not bloom in that situation.

They "bloom on old wood," which means they form their flower buds during the previous growing season. If you prune lilacs in the fall, you remove those flower buds, and will not get to enjoy any of that heavenly fragrance. Many spring-blooming plants bloom on old wood & should be pruned when they finish blooming in the spring, before they start to form next year's flower buds.
Prune by removing the oldest, thickest stems at ground level. The plant will respond by sending up a flush of growth from the roots. Remove weak spindly shoots, and keep well-spaced, robust shoots. This keeps the interior of the shrub open to better air circulation and sun penetration, which makes for a healthier lilac.

Lilacs do not require a high fertility level. If you fertilize a young plant heavily to encourage it to grow faster, it may put on leafy vegetative growth at the expense of flowers.
http://www.donnan.com/lilacs_blooming.htm
Good luck! Hope this is helpful.

Answer 4

mine didn't bloom for 5 years...be patient...

Answer 5

Maybe it had a shock in the winter(if it was too cold),or it is too hot for it now>>>

Answer 6

maybe the flowers didn't want to bloom ...........................they were just happy as it is........................................