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Q: I have two lilac bushes that have never bloomed. They are several years old and about 3 to 4 feet tall. How do I get them to bloom? 鈥� BarbS575, New Mexico

A: It would break my heart to have two of my all-time favorite shrubs living in my landscaping with no bloom. Heart-wrenching, to say the least.

I鈥檇 never heard of this and at first wondered if there are male or female specific lilacs. I know that in the Ilex world, aka holly, you do need male and female plants in order to have the happy red berries, but I鈥檇 never heard of lilacs being sex specific. I turned to several of my reference books and then waded online and felt assured that no, lilacs are not single sex plants.

Everything I have read lists three major concerns when it comes to lilacs not blooming. First and foremost is the amount of sunshine preferred by lilacs. They really perform best when offered at least six hours of sunshine daily. Without that, they probably won鈥檛 flower much, if at all. Are your two lilacs planted in a semi-shaded or a shaded area? If so, consider transplanting them to a sunnier locale.

The second most touted cause for a lilac not blooming is being overfertilized. As a rule they don鈥檛 need much fertilizer and if offered a lot of nitrogen in a fertilizer, like they are living close to or in a lawn, they are probably picking up too much nitrogen which isn鈥檛 utilized to produce blooms. You鈥檒l have healthy leaves, just no blooms.

The third most common cause to keep a lilac from blooming is what type of soil it鈥檚 planted in. I didn鈥檛 know this, but lilacs prefer living in a more alkaline-based soil. If when you planted you initially added a lot of peat moss as a soil amendment, that peat is more acidic in its makeup and the lilacs don鈥檛 like it. I can see wanting to make the soil hold more water, but that鈥檚 another caveat with lilacs. They prefer living in soil that drains well and tends to run on the alkaline spectrum of the soil kingdom. A planting spot that holds water really well isn鈥檛 gonna make for happy lilacs. Who knew? Well now we all do.

Everything listed here is fixable if the information pertains to how your nonblooming lilacs are growing, so don鈥檛 despair.

Two more things, some lilacs won鈥檛 bloom for the first few years they are planted, so that could be a cause too. Also, if you have pruned them as you would if they鈥檇 bloomed for you, stop. Let them keep the growth to see if that鈥檒l encourage these guys to come into bloom.

So it鈥檚 lots of sunshine, aim to never overfeed and certainly little to no nitrogen based diets, and better drainage at their feet. No soggy bottoms for a healthy lilac, OK? Hope this info helps you figure out the mystery as to why your lilacs aren鈥檛 blooming for you.

Q: I was given a miniature rose for my birthday earlier this month and it鈥檚 doing OK. As the flowers have finished blooming, I鈥檝e carefully cut them off to keep the plant looking good. I have noticed lately that a couple of the leaves are getting crinkled looking on their edges. Is this something I need to be concerned about? 鈥� H.B., sa国际传媒官网网页入口

A: Here鈥檚 what I鈥檒l suggest you look for.

Does the pot the rose lives in drain? Or is it sitting in a decorative nondraining pot? Is there florist wrapping paper keeping the water in the display? If your answer is yes, then you need to move the rose either out of the nondraining pot or cut away the festive wrapping paper and find a saucer for the rose to sit on.

Essentially, the rose could be drowning. It鈥檒l be a delicate dance in the beginning to keep the rose damp enough yet not drenched constantly once you get it out of the troubling pot or paper. I鈥檒l recommend watering from the bottom up. I usually fill the saucer my plants sit on and allow them to suck up the water they need.

Now, if there is still a lot of water in the saucer after a day, that needs to be poured off. Again, you don鈥檛 want to encourage drowning. Also, don鈥檛 allow the miniature rose to live too close to a cold window. Bright light is essential, but chilly temperatures aren鈥檛 good. Here鈥檚 to keeping your birthday rose healthier.

Happy Diggin鈥� In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, sa国际传媒官网网页入口, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, sa国际传媒官网网页入口, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.