Syringa villosa Seeds | Villous Lilac

Pale lilac panicles of Villous Lilac with broad, softly hairy leaves — Villous Lilac (*Syringa villosa*): Oleaceae, native to the dry hills of northern China.

LATIN NAME: Syringa villosa

COMMON NAME: Villous Lilac

Plant Profile

Syringa villosa is a stout, upright lilac from the hills of northern China, where it grows on dry, rocky slopes and at the edge of oak scrub. It makes a multi-stemmed shrub two to four metres tall, with broad, oval leaves that are smooth above and softly hairy underneath, the trait that gives the species its name. The flower panicles open in early June, two or three weeks after the common lilac, and they are held upright rather than nodding. Colour runs from pale lilac to a pinkish white, and the scent is lighter and sweeter than that of Syringa vulgaris.

The plant is one of the toughest lilacs in cultivation. It comes through -30 °C without damage, it grows on limestone and on shallow soil over rock, and it tolerates summer drought once its roots are down. The habit is dense and twiggy rather than elegant, which is why it is more often seen in collections and old gardens than in modern planting schemes.

Science & Biotechnology

Syringa villosa was named by the Danish botanist Martin Vahl in 1804, from plants already in European cultivation, and its wild origin remained uncertain for much of the nineteenth century. Later collectors traced it to Shanxi, Hebei and Shaanxi, where it grows between about 1,200 and 2,700 metres.

The genus has been rearranged more than once. What gardeners call the woody lilacs now sits in the tribe Oleeae alongside Ligustrum, and molecular work has confirmed how close the lilacs and the privets really are. Hybrids with Syringa vulgaris are common in gardens under a range of names, and they inherit the late flowering of this parent along with the broader leaf of the other.

Uses & Benefits

Because it flowers three weeks after the common lilac, Syringa villosa extends the season rather than competing with it, and that is the main reason it is planted. The upright panicles hold up in wind and rain, unlike the heavy trusses of the French hybrids, and the shrub suckers modestly to form a thicket that makes a good screen at the back of a border.

It is also one of the lilacs most tolerant of alkaline soil and of dry summers, which suits it to chalk and to the thin soils over limestone. Cut stems open indoors within a day or two, so it is better left in the garden than brought into a vase. The plant has no medicinal record; its value is scent, late bloom and toughness in poor ground.

Growing from Seed

Seed needs a cold, moist period and is best sown in autumn in a frame, or stratified in damp sand for eight to ten weeks at about 4 °C before a spring sowing. Surface-sow onto a loam-based compost with a third grit added, cover with a few millimetres of sieved compost, and keep the pans cool and shaded until the seedlings show.

Germination is often uneven and can run into a second spring, so do not discard a pan early. Prick the seedlings out once they have two true leaves, grow them on in deep pots because the roots go down fast, and plant out in autumn in full sun. The first flowers usually come in the fourth or fifth year. Prune immediately after flowering, cutting a third of the oldest stems to the base and leaving the young wood that will carry next year’s bloom.

Our Take

A lilac for the end of the lilac season, and one that asks for less than the named French hybrids. Plant it where the June scent will reach a path, and give it room to sucker.

Herb Seeds