Terry L. Ettinger Horticulture Consulting Services
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Lilacs for Central New York Landscapes
French Hybrid Lilacs
Thanks to the work of many professional and amateur plant breeders, it’s estimated that there are between 1,000 and 2,000
named hybrids of Syringa vulgaris — the common, or "French Hybrid" lilac. Among them are nearly fifty
hybrids developed and introduced by former superintendents of Highland Park in Rochester (New York, of course),
which are noted by *’s in the list below.
Unless noted otherwise, all of the cultivars below will grow eight to twelve feet tall and wide. Most also produce numerous suckers that can be dug with roots attached as soon as the ground thaws in late winter and transplanted.
- `Adelaide Dunbar' *
- Deep purple
- One of the deepest purple-flowering lilacs.
- `Arch McKean' *
- Dark purple
- Very deep purple on outside of florets and lighter violet inside.
- `Avalanche'
- Pure white
- One of the very best white-flowering common lilacs.
- `Belle de Nancy'
- Bright pink
- One of the most fragrant pink-flowering hybrids.
- `Charles Joly'
- Deep reddish-purple
- Introduced before 1900 and still one of the best, fragrant "red" lilacs.
- `Congo'
- Intense purple-red
- Also introduced before 1900. Very fragrant.
- `Edward J. Gardner'
- Pink
- Dark pink buds open to bright, intensely fragrant florets.
- `Katherine Havemeyer'
- Pale lavender
- Deep purple buds open to very soft lavender flowers. Very fragrant.
- `Krasavitsa Moskvy'
- Pinkish-white
- Pale pink buds open to pinkish-white flowers - very "Victorian."
- `Leon Gambetta'
- Lilac-pink
- Lilac-pink buds open to pale, fragrant flowers.
- `Ludwig Spaeth'
- Reddish-purple
- Introduced in 1883, this hybrid remains available and reliable to this day!
- `Michael Buchner'
- Light lavender
- Old variety (1885) with dark lavender buds that open to light lavender.
- `Miss Ellen Willmott'
- Pure white
- Pure white blooms are very fragrant. Does not sucker.
- `Monge'
- Magenta
- Large (fifteen feet), open shrub bears intensely fragrant, magenta flowers.
- `Mrs. W.E. Marshall'
- Deep purple
- Very deep purple flowers have a light fragrance.
- `Paul Thirion'
- Reddish-pink
- Deep reddish-magenta buds open to reddish-pink flowers.
- `President Grevy'
- Bluish-lilac
- Very old hybrid that’s still hard to replace!
- `Primrose'
- Creamy-white
- Sold as a yellow-flowered lilac, though actually creamy-white.
- `Sarah Sands'
- Deep red-purple
- One of the latest-blooming common lilac hybrids.
- `Sensation'
- Purple with white edges
- Deep purple florets edged in white are like no other lilac blooms - see picture at top of page.
- `Silver King'
- Silvery-blue
- No other lilac exhibits anything close to these steel-blue flowers!
- `Wedgewood Blue'
- Light blue
- Flower color is close to that of Wedgewood china. Fragrant.
- `Wonder Blue'
- Light blue
- Similar to `Wedgewood Blue,’ but slightly smaller plant.