Lilacs in San Jose?

[tonyk_]

My wife would like me to plant a lilac for her.
The trouble is.. We live in San Jose, California. (Zone 9).
I have looked through quite a few catalogs and the only
lilacs I have found are rated from zone 3 to zone 7.
Does anyone here know of a lilac that will survive (flourish)
in a mild climate such as mine? Preferably one with the scent
she remembers from Massachusetts.
Thanks
Tony

[John Ladasky]

I grew up in Connecticut, and I'm also a San Jose resident.
Yes, lilacs are beautiful and fragrant. As far as I know, they also
require serious chilling hours, more than apple trees. Good luck
finding a strain that will grow here!

--
Rainforest laid low.
"Wake up and smell the ozone,"
Says man with chainsaw. - John Ladasky

[Joe Conklin]

You might want to look into Butterfly Bushes. They look and smell
similar to Lilacs (possibly they are related) and may be able to take
the milder climates.

[grdngal]

tonyk_ wrote:

> My wife would like me to plant a lilac for her.
> The trouble is.. We live in San Jose, California. (Zone 9).
> I have looked through quite a few catalogs and the only
> lilacs I have found are rated from zone 3 to zone 7.
> Does anyone here know of a lilac that will survive (flourish)
> in a mild climate such as mine? Preferably one with the scent
> she remembers from Massachusetts.
> Thanks
> Tony

Tony - Check out Sunset's Western Garden Book - San Jose is Sunset zone
15 and there a number of species listed which may do better in your
climate than common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, which prefers a period of
winter chill. Your local nurseries and garden centers should be carrying
these. With the exception of S. japonica - Japanese tree lilac, all
should be fragrant as well.

gardengal

[MLEBLANCA]

Yes, Sunset has a good list of lilacs for warmer areas, 8 species.
The one that I have experience with in Chico, is the Persian Lilac,
Syringa persica. It does quite well here. I believe your winter temps
are quite similar to ours. It does have a lovely fragrance and does
not get too large, about 6-7 feet.
There are also lilacs developed for So Cal, the Descanso Hybrids,
which do well in mild winters, also.
Emilie
Nor Cal
.

[Debra Fritz]

On 29 Jan 1999 18:34:54 GMT, mleb...@aol.com (MLEBLANCA) wrote:

>
>Yes, Sunset has a good list of lilacs for warmer areas, 8 species.
>The one that I have experience with in Chico, is the Persian Lilac,
>Syringa persica. It does quite well here. I believe your winter temps
>are quite similar to ours. It does have a lovely fragrance and does
>not get too large, about 6-7 feet.
>There are also lilacs developed for So Cal, the Descanso Hybrids,
>which do well in mild winters, also.
>Emilie
>Nor Cal
>.

The Descanso hybrids, most notably Lavender Lady, do well in parts
of Southern California. When I went to get one, I told the Nursery
person exactly where I lived, and asked about how it would do.

He cautioned me that I'm too close to the Coast to get reliable
performance from these...and they do much better in our foothills
where it's colder in the Winter...

Debra

[Nancy Milligan]

Aha! I thought I saw lilacs that require little chill.... go here and you'll
find some:

http://www.baylaurelnursery.com/1999_catalog/shrubs_vines/index.html

Nancy M.

P.S. I'm not associated with them in anyway, except I plan to order some stuff
from them soon. They have a link on the CA rare fruit growers association WWW
page (crfg.org).

[John Ladasky]

In article <36B1BCB...@jetcity.com>, grdngal <grd...@jetcity.com> wrote:
>
>tonyk_ wrote:
>
>> My wife would like me to plant a lilac for her.
>> The trouble is.. We live in San Jose, California. (Zone 9).

^^^^^^^^
(Note: that's USDA zone 9.)

>> I have looked through quite a few catalogs and the only
>> lilacs I have found are rated from zone 3 to zone 7.
>> Does anyone here know of a lilac that will survive (flourish)
>> in a mild climate such as mine? Preferably one with the scent
>> she remembers from Massachusetts.
>> Thanks
>> Tony
>
>Tony - Check out Sunset's Western Garden Book - San Jose is Sunset zone
>15

Portions of San Jose near the hillsides (like my house in the
Berryessa area, and also the Almaden valley) are located in Sunset zone
16, which gets even less chill than zone 15. Right next to the Bay,
around Alviso, it's zone 17. This area also gets less chilling than
zone 15, but also does not get as warm during the summer. Outlying
rural areas in the eastern hills that still have a San Jose mailing
address may also be located in Sunset zone 7 -- quite chilly, the home
of the digger pine.

Aren't microclimates wonderful?

>and there a number of species listed which may do better in your
>climate than common lilac, Syringa vulgaris, which prefers a period of
>winter chill. Your local nurseries and garden centers should be carrying
>these. With the exception of S. japonica - Japanese tree lilac, all
>should be fragrant as well.
>
>gardengal

[ginnyP]

My mother had a beutiful lilac in San Diego. She got it to bloom by dumping
icecubes on it in late january and early feb for several days, then leaving
it alone. It always had loads of sweet smelling blooms.

tonyk_ <ton...@excite.com> wrote in article
<36B16561...@excite.com>...

> My wife would like me to plant a lilac for her.
> The trouble is.. We live in San Jose, California. (Zone 9).