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A politician needs the ability to foretell what is going to happen tomorrow, next week, next month, and next year. And to have the ability afterwards to explain why it didn't happen.
Winston Churchill

Agnes Smith

Agnes Smith


Beauty Of Moscow

Beauty Of Moscow


Charles Joly Charles Joly


Madame LeMoine

Madame LeMoine


Miss Kim

Miss Kim


President Grevy

President Grevy


 Sensation

Sensation


  Sensation

Sensation


MagentaMagenta>
Dark Blue Dark Blue
Purple (Blue/2 Red/4) Purple>
Lavender (Blue/2 Red/4)Lavender
Indigo (Blue/2 Red/4,Indigo
WhiteWhite

Wedgewood

Wedgewood


Wonderblue

Wonderblue


 Beauty Of Moscow

Beauty Of Moscow


Miss Kim

Miss Kim


Paul Thirlon

Paul Thirlon

Fancy Lilacs

More colors, more sizes, more leaves

The species lilacs come in a pale bluish pink (lilac...) and an off white. However the breeders have been busy over the years and there are seven recognized lilac colours, white, violet, blue, lavender, pink, magenta, and purple. In theory there is a yellow, but it’s kind of a nicotine stained light fixture sort of yellow. Not messy enough? With most of them the bud is much darker than the flower, then the flower fades in the sun. And the red pigments fade faster than the blue pigments. "What colour is your lilac?" "Let's see, it's the 10th today, it's two in the afternoon. I think the south side will be mostly Fuchsia Fantasy." Worse: They don't photograph well. Or rather the color in the picture doesn't match the colour in my memory. Maybe my memory is fading. It doesn't help that one person's magenta is another person's purple. One person's dark blue is another person's violet. I have avoided using the word purple in these descriptions, as the word is way too variable.

If you want to see the problem with colours, look up any cultivar name on google images E.g. ‘wonderblue lilac’ and you will get some actual blue, most blue with a tinge of magenta, and some all the way to white and pink. That said, google images is not very good at finding actual pictures of what you ask for.

About the list:

Most of these are special order. See list to see what I have currently.

French Lilacs -- Syringa vugaris

These lilacs sucker

Wonderblue Powder blue Dwarf 3-4 ft by 3-4 ft.

Wedgewood True blue 5-6 ft by 5-6 ft.

Beauty of Moscow Double pale pink, fading to white 8 ft x 5-6 ft.

Charles Joly (Sharles Zholi) Double red 8 ft x 5-6 ft.

Madame Lemoine Double white 8-10 ft. x 10 ft (wider than tall)

Paul Theirion Double pink 8 ft. x 5-6 ft.

Prairie Petite Single pink Dwarf 3-4 ft x 3 ft.

President Grevy Double Blue 10-12 ft x 8-10 ft.

Sensation Bicolour magenta with white edges 10-12 ft. x 8-10 ft

Preston Lilacs (Syringa x prestonae or S. reflexa x S. villosa)

The Preston Lilacs (or Canadian Lilacs) were originally raised at the Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa (1920's Miss Isabella Preston) - a cross between S. reflexa x S. villosa . They bear most resemblance to the late flowering lilacs, often blooming to 2 weeks after the common lilac. Very cold hardy , vigorous upright rounded shrub or small tree, flowers late spring, early summer. (June) Lighter foliage has good pest/disease resistance. Other hybridizers have bred the Prestons and the parentage is not always the same....Minuet, James MacFarlane and Royalty are amongst the "honorary" Preston lilacs All zone 2, all non-suckering

Agnes Smith Single white 6-8 ft. x 5-6 ft.

Charisma Dark magenta Dwarf 3-4 ft. x 2-3 ft.

Coral Clear pink 8-10 ft. x 6-8 ft.

Donald Wyman purple buds red-purple flowers 8-10 ft x 6-8 ft.

Minuet Soft pink. 6-8 ft. x 5-6 ft.

Royalty Dark magenta 6-8 ft x 5-6 ft

Other Shrub Lilacs

Bloomerang Syringa x 'Penda' Lavender-Purple Blooms a second time in fall. 4-5 ft. by 4 ft.

Miss Kim Syringa patula Lavender-purple 6-8 ft. x 4-5 ft.

Scent & Sensibility Syringa x SMSXPM

Pocohontas Syringa x hyaciniflora pink-magenta Early. 10-12 ft x 10-12 ft. Other than a bit more magenta in the bloom, this one looks pretty much like the species lilac. If someone can tell me what all the hype is about, do so.


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Sherwood's Forests is located about 75 km southwest of Edmonton, Alberta. Please refer to the map on our Contact page for directions.