Syringa x prestoniae 'Miss Canada'
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PINK LILAC, CANADIAN LILAC
Family: Oleaceae
Pronounced: si-RING-ah pres-TON-ee-ay
GROWING GUIDE
Geographic Origin:
Garden.
Plant Group:
Deciduous shrubs.
Hardiness:
Sunset zones: A1-A3; 1-11, 14-16.
USDA zones: 2-7.
Heat zones: 7-1.
Mature size:
Height: 6-12 feet (1.8-3.6 m).
Width: 6-12 feet (1.8-3.6 m).
Flowering period:
Late spring to early summer.
Flowering attributes:
Fragrant, 6- to 9-inch long panicles of bright pink, single flowers opening from rosy-red buds.
Leaf attributes:
Medium to dark green, 6-inch long, ovate leaves.
Growth habit:
Deciduous, upright shrub or small tree.
Light:
Full sun.
Soil:
Fertile, humus rich soil on the neutral to alkaline side. With our acidic soils, it is important to place lime around the base of these shrubs and grow them in full sun. Otherwise, flowers may be elusive on your lilac bush.
Feeding:
Side dress with compost in fall, and add lime to neutralize our acidic NW soils.
Propagation Methods:
Greenwood cuttings in summer. | Layer in summer.
Pruning Methods:
When it is young prune this lilac to 3-5 trunks. It doesn’t sucker, but keep removing anything lower than your initial trunks. Prune directly after flowers fade.
Rainy Side Notes
To extend the lilac season and color palette, Syringa ‘Miss Canada’ is a choice shrub. Its deep rose-red buds open to bright pink flowers, approximately two weeks later than the French hybrids. The mild scent is not like the typical lilac flower. If you are planting for lilac fragrance, you should perform a nose test first and get a whiff of its spicy aroma.
This lilac is a wonderful specimen shrub that can grow into a small, spreading, tree-like shrub. It also takes well to pot culture. Anywhere you site them, the hummingbirds and butterflies will flock. Since lilacs are fire-retardant, the shrub is a good choice for planting near the home.
From Isabella Preston’s original breeding work in Canada during the 1920s, crossing S. villosa with the pollen of S. reflexa, came Syringa x prestoniae, a fine line of late blooming lilacs. In 1967, Dr. W. A. Cumming introduced S. ‘Miss Canada’, which is a cross between S. josiflexa ‘Redwine’ and S. prestoniae ‘Hiawatha’.
Debra Teachout-Teashon
Photographed in the Hulda Klager Lilac Garden.
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