Gardening and Horticulture - Q2: New Lilac looks ill

Two weeks ago we purchased a French Lilac (Sensation) from a local and very prominent garden centre. A week ago we transplanted the lilac using the centre's brand of transplant liquid, etc.

After a day or so we noticed the leaves on one side starting to darken and wilt. After a few more days those leaves were black and dried, and many other leaves are yellowing with brown or dried edges. Very disappointing.

The garden centre advised it may be a result of cool weather and stress from transplanting. The day after we planted it we had light rain, followed by cool sunny days, then serious rain.

The garden centre suggested waiting a couple of weeks to see whether the plant shows any sign of improvement. Has anyone dealt with this before? Any suggestions would be so greatly appreciated.

How did you maintain the plant for the week between the time you bought it and the time that you planted it?

We left it in a sunny spot near the front of the house, watering etc. as needed, for about a week. We kept the roots intact as much as possible when planting (of course), then watered with and according to the transplant liquid suggested by the garden centre.

This may be transplant shock or just dying from dessication prior to planting. In any event, it sounds as if it is dying. Keep it watered and check with the vendor in a couple of weeks if it dies. The vendor can make it whole.

Heavy clay and heavy rain are not good for a newly transplanted lilac. A wide hole about 3' in diameter and as deep as the height of the root system is recommended. Soil should be a mix of 75% rich loam, 25% compost and/or manure for soil with good drainage. Mixing in some gravel is also good for drainage. Lilacs can literally drown without good drainage.

We stopped into the garden centre today with a sample leaf for viewing. The on-site 'expert' didn't know what the problem was, so we walked over to the display to see how the others of our type had fared. As it turned out, very badly indeed - and much worse than ours!

The staff member was far more knowledgeable than said 'expert', and advised that they were brought out a little too early. All of their plants suffered damage due to near-frost temperatures experienced shortly after the lilacs were moved to the main sales area. Their lilacs were in very poor condition - while theirs were 3/4 shrivelled and dead - ours at least still has most of its leaves. I did follow someone's advice to clip the dead growth immediately, which I think helped a great deal. The plant still needs some time to improve, but thankfully I think we're past the danger zone.

Just fyi, we did dig the right-sized hole, filled it with triple-mix, and used the transplant fertilizer the garden centre recommends. We take great care with our gardens to ensure excellent drainage and growth environment, which was why I was so surprised and disappointed by the results. Thank you to everyone for your comments! The only question I have now is, when should I fertilize the lilac again? Thanks for your help! I love this site. :-)

I heard you should not use any fertilizer until a few weeks after the transplanting. It's worked for me. Transplant shock is enough for the roots without having to absorb fertilizer. Who knows...