Syringa Bloomerang® Purpink™ Lilac

A Proven Winners® ColorChoice® Flowering Shrubs variety, Syringa Bloomerang® Purpink™ lilac is a deciduous shrub offering three seasons of interest, taking on fall color, blooming in spring and reblooming in midsummer through fall. Purpink is one of the most prolific rebloomers in the Bloomerang series. The starry, sweetly scented flowers are arranged in dense, terminal clusters that are sometimes purple, sometimes pink, sometimes a bit of both. They sustain pollinators, including bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, and make lovely spring and autumn bouquets. For longer lasting cuts, choose stems that have at least three-quarters of the flowers open, harvest in the cool of morning, remove all leaves, and immediately place in fresh, cool water.

A highly versatile multistemmed shrub, Syringa Bloomerang Purpink has a neat, upright, rounded habit and makes a gorgeous specimen or a great thriller (focal point) in a container garden. But it is shown to best effect when massed or grouped in beds and borders and makes a nice hedge.

Long-lived and easy to grow, lilac grows best in sunny locations with organically rich, well-draining soil having a neutral to alkaline pH. Cold hardy to Zone 3, the plant not only tolerates very cold conditions but also requires a period of cold weather to bloom well. It is not well-suited to warmer climates and cannot tolerate soggy, wet conditions. Bloomerang Purpink is disease and deer resistant. It blooms on old and new wood, so any desired pruning should be done after the spring bloom.

The botanical name of lilac, Syringa (suh-RIN-gah), is from the Greek word syrinx, which means tube. This is because the stems of lilac contain a spongy pith that can be removed, leaving a hollow tube that has traditionally been used to create panpipes.