Prairie Petite

Lilac is my favorite scent on earth. It's too bad for me that lilacs bloom only once a year, and for a very short amount of time.

When we moved into the house, I knew I wanted to plant lilac somewhere in the yard, but to be honest, I'm not really fond of the dull Summer foliage and oversized often leggy habit of the lilac bush. When I saw a "miniature" lilac in the Park's Seed catalogue, I was very excited, and despite the $30 price tag, ordered one for my purple and yellow perennial bed.

Here is Prairie Petite at the start of his 4th year. It took this little fellow a lot of energy to make those two blooms you see there, so don't laugh!



I don't think he's grown much since last year. This bush is supposed to stay under 4', but I didn't realize they meant this much under 4'!



He was a tiny little guy at year 2.



But not as small as when I first planted him.



Since he isn't taking up much room, I'll let him stick around a while longer!

Park's Seeds does not offer this plant at this time. I did find the same plant for sale at White Flower Farm if you are interested. I have never ordered from this site, but I have friends who reported good experiences with their plants.

Prairie Petite Lilac

My Prairie Petite lilac has grown so slowly that I suspected it to be a geriatric variety. I purchased it from Park's Seeds in Fall 2007, but from what I can find on their website, they don't sell this variety any longer. I was interested in this plant, because it is supposed to be a miniature lilac but produce blooms as prolifically as a full-size shrub. The intoxicating scent of lilac is a childhood memory that I would like to keep alive, but I don't really have room for a full-size plant in my yard.

In all honesty, I did get a bloom this year, and it smelled fantastic, so I shouldn't complain about the plant, but in even more honesty, this guy was up for composting this year if it didn't bloom.

Here he is first year:



He grew a little bit the second year:



And a teeny bit more the third year:



Check out his cute little attempt at blooming.



Poor little fellow. I think I'll give him a little more time to get settled in.