Very OT: Any gardeners out there?

[missym]

Our poor lilac bush is in bad shape, and I'd love some advice on what to do. It's pretty sizable, about 9 feet tall. Over the past few years, it's gradually been covered by wild roses. While they're pretty, they now cover about 1/3 of the lilac and are starting to choke it out. I can't see a way to disentangle them; I think I just need to cut off the affected parts. I really don't want to kill it, though.

So my question is, how aggressive can I be without harming the lilac bush? Are they pretty hardy?

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03

[JElaineB]

We have 3 huge lilac bushes and they are pretty hardy. I have heard you can cut off about 1/3 each year but I have never done that much. I would say trim what you need to trim to get the invader out of there, otherwise the lilac could die anyway. The only issue with trimming this late in the season is that you might cut off next year's blooms. You are really supposed to trim lilacs right after the blooms die, which is before the next year's flowers have formed.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[missym]

Thanks, Jennifer!

Missy, mom to Gwen 03/03