Digging deeperPlant Library

Other Names:  Rubra Chinese Lilac, Rouen Lilac

Description:

A beautiful and undervalued large spring blooming shrub with an abundance of fragrant reddish-pink flowers and a graceful dense habit; not as leggy as other varieties, non-suckering, grows quite large, makes a fabulous tall flowering hedge or solo accent

Ornamental Features

Saugeana Lilac features showy panicles of fragrant fuchsia flowers at the ends of the branches in mid spring. The flowers are excellent for cutting. It has dark green deciduous foliage. The pointy leaves do not develop any appreciable fall color.

Landscape Attributes

Saugeana Lilac is a dense multi-stemmed deciduous shrub with a shapely form and gracefully arching branches. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage.

This is a high maintenance shrub that will require regular care and upkeep, and should only be pruned after flowering to avoid removing any of the current season's flowers. It is a good choice for attracting butterflies to your yard. It has no significant negative characteristics.

Saugeana Lilac is recommended for the following landscape applications;

• Accent
• Mass Planting
• Hedges/Screening
• General Garden Use

Planting & Growing

Saugeana Lilac will grow to be about 12 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 12 feet. It tends to fill out right to the ground and therefore doesn't necessarily require facer plants in front, and is suitable for planting under power lines. It grows at a medium rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 40 years or more.

This shrub should only be grown in full sunlight. It is very adaptable to both dry and moist locations, and should do just fine under average home landscape conditions. It is not particular as to soil type or pH. It is highly tolerant of urban pollution and will even thrive in inner city environments. This particular variety is an interspecific hybrid.