Every spring, along with the blooming of lilacs, debates flare up about whether they can be picked and brought home. If the bush belongs to you — it is possible, but it should be done wisely, otherwise the plant can be damaged in such a way that in the following years it will no longer delight with its blooms, writes LSM+.
As leading researcher at the Institute of Horticulture Sarmīte Straujiņa explained in a conversation with LSM.lv, it is also important to know how to properly prepare cut branches for life in a vase so that they do not wilt too quickly.
The hottest debates about whether to bring lilacs home traditionally unfold on social media. Often, the argument is made that picking lilacs is supposedly beneficial for the bush, not harmful, but it is not that simple.
"If you are going to cut, you need to understand how to do it so as not to spoil the beauty of the bush. Only individual branches should be cut, and one should look at how it looks as a whole. Everything should be done reasonably — you can't just grab and break them on the go," the researcher explained.
Those who have ever picked lilacs know well: the branches do not break easily. If the desire to bring lilacs home arose spontaneously and there are no sharp scissors at hand, broken branches leave hanging strips of bark, which also damages the bush.
"Of course, over time the bush will heal, but I don't know if people will like to look at it later," Straujiņa noted.
If flowering lilac branches have been brought home, simply placing them in a vase is not enough. To ensure that the lilacs last longer in the room, one needs to know how to properly care for them. First of all, the leaves should be removed because they are not yet mature, actively evaporating moisture and taking water away from the flowers.
Additionally, before placing the branches in the vase, the researcher advises, for example, to slightly pound the ends of the stems with a meat mallet — this increases the surface area through which the plant absorbs water.
Speaking about how to place lilacs in water, there are two methods that can help keep them in the vase longer:
The first option: first immerse the lilacs in very hot water, then place them in a vessel with cool water.
The second option: immediately place the branches in very cold water and before bringing them into the room, keep them in the cool for a while.
If you do not have your own lilacs yet but really want to pick them and bring them home someday, you can plant a sufficiently large seedling and wait about six to seven years — this time is usually enough for the bush to start producing lush bouquets. And to simply enjoy the blooming, two to three years is enough if the seedling was large enough.
Those who want to admire real long-livers among lilacs should head to the plantings near the Latvian National Opera and Ballet or to the Esplanade Park in Riga. There grow the oldest known lilac bushes in Latvia — they are about 100 years old.
As Straujiņa explained, the lifespan of lilacs depends on the growing location, soil, and variety resilience. In principle, grafted lilacs can live about 50 years, but, as it is evident, some bushes can grow and bloom much longer — even a whole century.
Ungrafted lilacs, growing as bushes rather than trees, can easily live 100 years or more.
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