Deeply Rooted

I like to think that there are only two kinds of lilacs; the kind that spread, and the kind that don’t. Lilacs can largely be split into two major families, either Preston (non-suckering) or French (suckering). But then there is a third less obvious group of lilac that we should be careful not to overlook; the Meyer Lilac family. The famous Little Leaf Lilac, also known as Dwarf Korean Lilac, comes from this group. It also includes varieties like Bloomerang, Jose, and Scent & Sensibility Lilac.

But my favourite from the Meyer’s family is the Miss Kim Lilac. Miss Kim will grow to six feet tall making for an excellent medium shrub or hedge row. She puts out her light pink blossoms 1-2 weeks later than most lilacs offering an extension on the lilac blooming season.

Like all lilacs Miss Kim requires full sun: 6 hours or more. She is quite soil tolerant and drought tolerant as well. But it is key not to plant her in a low wet area or heavy clay as she doesn’t appreciate excess moisture for extended periods of time. As a zone 2 cold tolerant shrub Miss Kim Lilac is fully capable of withstanding the violent forces of Manitoba winters.

She is also very disease resistant keeping her leaves very clean and fresh looking late into the fall. This is convenient as Miss Kim puts on her second colour show of the year in autumn with deep purple fall foliage. This is the trait that sets Miss Kim Lilac aside from all others. The only lilac that comes close to Miss Kim’s fall colour is her daughter the Little Lady Lilac, a hybrid of Miss Kim and Little Leaf. But that is a story for another day…