Syringa Vulgaris Hedging

The Common Lilac tree, Syringa vulgaris, makes a lovely flowering hedging plant or large specimen shrub / small tree, suitable for a small garden.
Lilac can reach 6-7 metres if it grows freely as a tree.

Lilac hedge plants are only delivered bareroot, during winter (Nov-March).
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots aren't measured).

See our selection of hedge shrub plants or view our full range of hedging.

Spacing a Lilac hedge:

Plant Lilac hedging at 2 plants per metre, 50cms apart.

General description of Lilac plants:

Syringa vulgaris, is a large, deciduous shrub or small tree. It is famous for its large, conical clusters of heavily scented flowers in variable shades of pink, which last through May. The large, vibrant green leaves look lovely all summer and turn in a subdued muddle of dusty yellows and peachy oranges in autumn.
Lilac is usually grown as a specimen tree, but it makes a great, dense informal hedge and flowers hard when it is clipped regularly. Being trimmed will also encourage the plant to sucker from the base, so that the stems on a mature Lilac hedge grow so thickly that you can't see through them in winter. It is a great plant for drawing butterflies into your garden.

History & uses of Syringa vulgaris:

Lilac is native to Eastern Europe and the Ottomans grew it extensively. It has been escaping from gardens into the wild here since the 1500's, so it is widely naturalised.

Growing Lilac plants:
It will grow on any well-drained soil, including chalk. It tolerates shade but will flower poorly with less than half a day of full sun, so we really recommend it for sunny places.

Prepare your site before planting:
It is good to dig over the area where you plant a hedge several months in advance, especially if the soil is poor. Destroy the weeds first: nettles, brambles and ground elder are tough and a glyphosate based weed-killer is the best way to remove them. Then dig the soil over; remove rocks, roots and other rubbish. Mix in well rotted compost or manure down to the depth of about 2 spades. If your soil is rich, you don't have to dig it over, but killing all the weeds is still necessary.

Watch our video on how to plant a garden hedge for full details. The plants in this video are delivered pot-grown, but planting out bareroot stock is essentially the same.
Remember to water establishing plants during dry weather for at least a year after planting.

Hedge Planting Accessories:
Prepare your site for planting by killing the weeds and grass with Roundup weed killer.
You can buy a hedge planting pack with sheets of mulch fabric and pegs to hold it down.
If you are planting in an area with rabbit and/or deer, you will need to use a plastic spiral guard for each plant, supported by a bamboo cane.
If your soil quality is poor, we recommend using mycorrhizal "friendly fungi" on the roots of new trees and shrubs.
You can also improve your soil with bonemeal organic fertiliser and Growmore.

Read our full terms and conditions here.

Delivery: Our standard delivery charges are:

Small box (Orders containing only seedlings or rooted cuttings) £7.20 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Standard box (Bareroots up to 1.2m) £11.40 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £60 inc VAT)
Large box (Pots up to and incl. 7.5L) £15.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £100 inc VAT)
Trees & Hedging (Bareroots & trees 1.2m+) £18.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £120 inc VAT)
Pallets (Root balls, large pots, trees etc) £60.00 including VAT per order (FREE For ORDERS Over £240 inc VAT)

*Surcharges to the Highlands and Islands still apply.

Because couriers sometimes experience delays, we schedule delivery by week, not by day. Therefore, please plan your planting day for the weekend at the end of the delivery week or for the week following delivery, at the earliest.
We will email you the day before your plants are due to arrive.

Payment: We do not charge your card until we begin to prepare your order for packing.

Guarantee: If any plants die within a year, we will replace them. We only ask that you follow our planting & growing instructions and sent us clear photographs of the dead plants in situ, so we can help to make sure that the replacement plants succeed. You only pay for the delivery of the replacements.

Please note that our guarantee is void if there is a hosepipe ban in your area: your newly planted hedging must be watered in dry weather while it is establishing. The best way to water is very thoroughly every few days: at least once a week in summer if there is no heavy rain.

Our nursery has been supplying container grown and bareroot hedging plants to gardeners, farmers and town planners since 1949. Our website started in 2003, so we do understand the concerns that you may have about buying hedging plants online. If any of your plants are damaged when they arrive or if you are otherwise not satisfied with your order after you inspect it, please repackage it and contact us. We will give you a refund or send replacements and send a courier to come and collect the unwanted plants.

Soil	Alkaline/Chalky
Colour	Lilac
Type	Hedging
Also Good	Fragrant

	Buy 11 or more bareroot plants and save

SIZES	1-10	11-50	51-250	251-1000	1001+
40/60 cm Bareroot	Plenty of Stock£4.44	Plenty of Stock£3.55	Plenty of Stock£3.11	Plenty of Stock£2.89	Plenty of Stock£2.66
	Prices include VAT

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Syringa vulgaris

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