THE LILAC ZONE

This is 'Alice Christianson'. She's a beauty, right? Ever since I saw this lilac years ago, I have been in love with it, which is typical because of course this lilac is difficult to find. After the first failed attempt in procuring it, I finally was able to purchase a sucker of it 3 years ago from a gentleman kind enough to dig one up that was growing next to his mother plant and sell it to me. It bloomed this year and... 

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SURPRISE - this is the bloom, reminiscent of an "Old Fashioned White" lilac. AARRRGGGHHHH!!!!!

After speaking to my friend, guess what lilac is growing right next to it? Yep - an "old Fashioned White"! Although a disappointment, these things do happen and my friend offered to try again to successfully locate and dig up another sucker for me in hopes of obtaining the real variety this time. It was a nice gesture, but I am not confident that it will be successful. That being said, the search continues!!!

Boy, do I love large-flowered white lilacs and this lilac called 'Satin Cloud' is another impressive one. I was surprised to see it bloom, as it is a rather young plant and was excited to see it. 'Satin Cloud' is another Father Fiala lilac and once again proves that he was skilled in propagating lilacs of great merit!

'Decaisne' is a French lilac, named after a French botanist. It is described as a single blue and it produces huge panicles of flowers. I honestly had not planned to keep this lilac in my collection until it bloomed and I saw how beautiful it is. Now that I have experienced its beauty, it isn't leaving my collection any time soon!

This lilac is called 'Edmond Boissier' and is very striking in its purple coloration. I originally procured this lilac as it was close (but not quite as spectacular) in coloration to another lilac that I was enamored with, 'Jessie Gardner'. I have since obtained 'Jessie Gardner' and because I have limited space, will be donating this plant to a public garden for others to be able to enjoy its beauty.

Despite the incredibly warm winter this year, I was surprised and excited to see that 7 of my lilacs were going to bloom for the first time this spring! Of course what accompanies the excitement of seeing a lilac bloom for the first time and reveal that it is the true-to-name variety is also the potential revelation that you may have waited years only to discover that the lilac is not what you thought it was. Unfortunately that happened this year as well, but it happens to everyone that I know that is a lilac collector.

This cultivar is called 'Al Lumley', named after a gentleman that played an important part in the lilac world in New England. It has been interesting to see this lilac finally bloom as not many people have had much exposure to it. The bloom has been described as violet and white, and single -flowering. Obviously it is not a single. In discussing with the few others that also have this lilac, the consensus is that it is actually a double-flowering lilac and the description of it in the official Lilac Registry is incorrect. It has a beautiful bloom and while tempted to keep it, I plan on donating this shrub to the Lumley family so that they can have it in their collection.

This lilac is called 'Lucie Baltet', which is described as a single pink lilac. The buds are described as "coppery" in color, the hue of which can apparently vary substantially depending on the individual plant. I actually have two different shrubs planted side-by-side from two different sources to see whether the hue varies between them. Only one of the plants flowered this year, but regardless it was great to see it . Hopefully some time in the next couple of years I will be able to compare blooms from both!

This lilac is one that I obtained from a private collection but was not labeled. There are quite a few single white lilacs listed by the original owner to be in the collection,  but fortunately by comparing photos of florets, I was able to narrow it down to two possible cultivars, 'Mme Florent Stepman' or 'Marie Finon'. Unfortunately there is no way to tell for sure which variety this may be, short of running a genetic sample through a DNA test and that is neither easily done or economical. I will just have to enjoy it as a beautiful unknown white, as I wouldn't dare represent it to be a specific cultivar if I wasn't sure.