Lilac ‘Palibin’ Standard
July’s Plant of the Month proves you don’t need a large garden to enjoy the scent of lilac drifting through the air.
Many of us love lilacs, but not everyone has room for a big, sprawling shrub. Lilac ‘Palibin’ is compact, giving you that same fragrance, lilac-pink colour and cottage garden charm, but in a neat standard tree shape.
It’s particularly good for patios, smaller gardens, entrances, balconies and sunny seating areas. Instead of disappearing into the back of a border, the flowers are lifted on a clear stem, bringing colour and fragrance closer to where you can actually enjoy them.
Fragrant Lilac Flowers With A Neat Standard Tree Shape
This standard lilac boasts the look of a miniature flowering tree with a rounded head of fresh green foliage and masses of wonderfully scented blooms from late spring into early summer.
The fragrance is exactly what you want from a lilac – sweet, familiar and stopping-you-in-your-tracks lovely. It is one of those scents that feels instantly uplifting, and because this plant is grown as a standard, the flowers sit at a useful height for enjoying as you pass by.
Even when not in full bloom, the lollipop shape gives your patios, borders and doorways a finished look. Use one as a feature in a large container, or place a pair either side of a path or entrance for a more formal effect.
Why Grow Lilac ‘Palibin’ Standard In Pots And Small Gardens?
This is a brilliant choice for maximum charm without a plant that gets out of hand. ‘Palibin’ is naturally compact, so is much easier to manage than many traditional lilacs, while still offering generous flower power and excellent garden presence.
It is hardy, reliable and easy to grow in UK conditions, thriving best in a sunny spot with fertile, well-drained soil. It even carries the RHS Award of Garden Merit – a sure-fire sign of garden pedigree and reliability. Bees and butterflies enjoy the nectar-rich blooms too, so this is not just a pretty patio feature.
You can purchase your own Lilac ‘Palibin’ Standard here!
Planting and Caring For Your Lilac ‘Palibin’ Standard’
- Grow lilac plants in fertile, well drained soil in full sun, in containers using a soil-based compost.
- While your lilac is young and becoming established, feed and water regularly throughout the growing season.
- Prune lilac standards in winter or spring, removing any damaged, diseased or misplaced stems before lightly shaping the head to maintain its standard form and height. In mid-summer, remove faded flowers to keep plants tidy.
- After pruning, apply a mulch of well-rotted manure or compost to the base of the lilac.
How to Plant:
- Shrub roots generally tend to spread out rather than down, so dig a planting hole three times wider than the roots of the shrub you’re planting, and mix some well rotted compost or manure with the soil from the hole and use this to re-fill one the shrub is in place.
- We’ve found that a square hole is better than a round one as the new roots, once they reach the edges, tend to grow in a circle around the circumference of the hole whereas when they reach the corners of a square hole, they find it easier to grow through.
- Before planting soak container-grown plants thoroughly and allow to drain.
- Remove the plant from its pot and tease out a few of the roots.
- Add Mycorrhizal fungi to the roots when planting to help plants establish quicker.
- Place your shrub in the hole at the same level at the pot, then refill the hole. Firm in the soil with your heel, avoiding the root ball, then water well.
- Mulch around the base of the plant with a collar, compost, gravel, bark etc.
