I'm not familiar with growing lilacs. I have 2. The scent and sensation, and Russian beauty. They are turning green and budding. But not really growing. Are they just slow growers? How about fertilizer? Good type for them?
Thank you for your help.

I think of them as slow growers, and find bone meal to be a good food for them.

Thanks Bob. I always have bone meal on hand

Nhra_20 said:Thanks Bob. I always have bone meal on hand

I have a sensation lilac that is still very small (only about 18" growth--foliage only--this is its 2nd year). Was curious whether the bone meal helped; I would like to try to help it now that we're putting it in the ground.

Thanks!

It helped, I think. But i didn't get enormous gains. Just slow growing.

Back when I was a total gung-ho gardener a few years back, I mean less than a decade, I used to have a cabinet full of transplant and fertilizer compounds from the organic ones to the nasty ones with a skull and cross bones on the label.

I used to buy Superthrive and similar products by the gallon. I do believe they , if not speeding growth, caused the plants I used them on to reach the point where roots are established and foliage growth takes over more quickly.
Bad part was even though gallons or two and one half gallon jugs are cheaper per ounce they are far from cheap.

I put in six lilacs a decade ago, plus or minus a year or so, and one the size of a twig went belly-up, one died this spring but the rest are now all over eight feet high.

RpR said:Back when I was a total gung-ho gardener a few years back, I mean less than a decade, I used to have a cabinet full of transplant and fertilizer compounds from the organic ones to the nasty ones with a skull and cross bones on the label.

I used to buy Superthrive and similar products by the gallon. I do believe they , if not speeding growth, caused the plants I used them on to reach the point where roots are established and foliage growth takes over more quickly.
Bad part was even though gallons or two and one half gallon jugs are cheaper per ounce they are far from cheap.

I put in six lilacs a decade ago, plus or minus a year or so, and one the size of a twig went belly-up, one died this spring but the rest are now all over eight feet high.

Thanks so much -- I was waiting for SuperThrive to come up. I use it but not as much in quantity (I do a lot of the 1/4 tsp/gal for houseplants). I will try adding it to my watering ritual, along with the Bone Meal.]