THE LILAC ZONE
Photo courtesy of Tatiana Polyakova
Regardless of the fact that each specific lilac cultivar is categorized in a particular color class, that doesn't stop them from occasionally producing bud mutations (sports) that can be radically different in color from the parent plant. For instance, 'Sensation', one of the most distinctive bicolor lilacs, began as a sport of a single purple cultivar called 'Hugo de Vries', which has no white. 'Primrose', a lilac exhibiting a yellow hue, began as a sport of a single white cultivar called 'Marie Legraye'. A third example is living at my estate, a light pink sport of the single blue 'Blanche Sweet' that I am anxiously hoping and praying to have growing on its own roots someday!
'Albert J. Holden' - This dark purple lilac has a silver hue on the reverse side of the petals, creating a cool contrast and bicolor effect from a distance.
'Arch McKean' - This magenta lilac produces huge florets. You might even describe them as "humungachunga" if that is part of your everyday vocabulary. It isn't, you say? Maybe it should be. It's a fun word.
'Maurice de Vilmorin' - This lilac is an incredible double lavender but unfortunately for most, very difficult to find!
'Marie Frances' - The color of the blooms of this cultivar is often described as "salmon pink" but in my opinion, this is one of the pinkest lilacs and one of the best.
'President Lincoln' - This is one of my favorite blues and one that always grabs my attention when I see it, particularly right when it first blooms. This cultivar has been around a long time but in my mind it remains one of the best blues.
'Violetta' - Give me a minute to remember the color category of this lilac. It's right on the tip of my tongue...if only the name would help jog my memory...
All joking aside, I do think 'Violetta' is the best example of a double-flowered lilac in the "violet" category.
'Flora 1953' - With petals so clean and bright and florets and panicles so huge, this is one of the best white lilacs I have seen to date.
The second statement you commonly hear about lilacs is usually some variation of the following:
2. "I love lilacs! I remember even seeing a magenta one once when I was young!"
It's pretty amazing how many people don't realize that lilacs come in a tremendous variety of colors and color combinations! If you didn't know this yourself, don't feel bad - I didn't know it either until one of my co-workers enlightened me years ago. This co-worker happened to be the granddaughter of a lilac propagator. Not only are there lilac (lavender) and white varieties, you can actually find lilacs that bloom in violet, blue, pink, magenta, purple and even light yellow, never mind those in which the bloom color falls somewhere in between one of these categories. An example of each color category of lilac (along with a comment or my humble opinion about them) can be found below: