Syringa xchinensis - Chinese Lilac or Rouen Lilac (Oleaceae) ------Syringa x chinensis is a shrub with showy, early the terminal floral buds, flowering in early- and mid- May, very fragrant inflorescences, but Chinese Lilac May and lasting for 1-2 weeks is susceptible to powdery mildew on its foliage by -inflorescences occur mostly as single-flowering late summer. forms, with relatively few cultivars as compared to Common Lilac FEATURES -while deadheading will slightly improve the overall Form vigor and appearance of the shrub, it is usually -medium-sized to large- impractical to perform except on young shrubs sized ornamental shrub Fruits maturing at about 10' tall x -winter persistent, brown dehiscent capsules occur on 10' wide, but sometimes woody fruiting stalks, not ornamentally effective but larger a good identification feature of the genus -upright oval growth habit Twigs in youth, becoming leggy -light brown to brown-gray, lightly lenticeled, with and spreading with age fairly stout stems having moderately-sized floral buds -medium growth rate (often in pairs at the terminus of the season's growth) Culture and smaller vegetative buds (as lateral buds on the -full sun to partial shade flowering stems, or as lateral and terminal buds on -best performance occurs in full sun in moist, well- portions of the shrub that are more shaded) drained, neutral to slightly acidic soils of average Trunk fertility, in areas with good air circulation; it is highly -multi-trunked, light brown, and slightly exfoliating adaptable to poor soils, soils of various pH, drought, in thin strips with maturity, becoming somewhat and pollution, but declines under the heat and high leggy with age, and with basal suckers having a rapid humidity of the Southern U.S. growth rate unless annually pruned away -propagated by rooted stem cuttings, seeds, grafting, or from rooted suckers USAGE -Olive Family, with numerous potential diseases Function (including powdery mildew) and pests (including -specimen shrub for borders, entranceways, large borers and scales), yet Chinese Lilac is usually a foundations, rows, group plantings, or deciduous vigorous, relatively trouble-free shrub, except for the screens annual infection of powdery mildew that arrives in Texture late Aug. and persists until leaf drop -medium texture in foliage and when bare -rarely available, in B&B form (having been replaced -thick density in foliage and when bare, although in prominence by the mildew-free Lilacs, and still somewhat leggy with age overshadowed by the abundance of cultivars from Assets one of its parents, namely Common Lilac) -showy, fragrant inflorescences in early to mid-May -as the shrub matures, it may get quite dense, Liabilities spreading, and tall; to control this (and increase air -leaves become infected with unsightly powdery flow within the canopy to minimize powdery mildew mildew in late summer and autumn, becoming infection), an annual thinning of the canopy interior, speckled or solid white and coupled with poor coupled with lateral and terminal branch autumn color containment, can be accomplished by selectively -often becomes too large and spreading with age, as removing a few individual large stems or small compared to its originally intended boundaries branches each year at the time of flowering, -some degree of legginess with age Foliage Habitat -medium to dark green, opposite, ovate, with a long- -Zones 3 to 7 tapering acute apex -parents are native to Southern Europe, Common -upper leaf surface is Lilac (Syringa vulgaris), and Iran (formerly Persia), glabrous and shiny, Persian Lilac (Syringa x persica) but annually infested -some sources list Cutleaf Lilac (Syringa laciniata) as with powdery mildew the second parent, instead of Persian Lilac by late Aug. or early Sept., turning various SELECTIONS degrees of speckled or Alternates solid white -shrubs with fragrant inflorescences in early spring -autumn color (other (Corylopsis glabrescens, Viburnum x burkwoodii, than white) is green to Viburnum carlesii, Viburnum farreri, Viburnum x yellowish green, and juddii), mid-spring (Syringa meyeri, Syringa patula ornamentally poor 'Miss Kim', Syringa x hyacinthiflora, Syringa x Flowers prestoniae, Syringa villosa, Syringa vulgaris), late -purple, violet, or spring to early summer (Itea virginica, Philadelphus white, 4-6" long, coronarius, Philadelphus x virginalis), mid-summer profusely fragrant and (Clethra alnifolia), and mid- to late-autumn showy, narrow (Hamamelis virginiana) pyramidal Cultivars – Variants – Related species inflorescences, often -several exist, primarily noted for their variation in arising in pairs from floral color or double-flowers