Japanese Tree Lilac - Syringa reticulata
Oleaceae - Olive Family
This tree is the only lilac that attains tree stature.
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Japanese Tree Lilac leaves Healthy lilacs may require watering during dry weather.

Cultivars of the Japanese tree lilac include ‘Ivory Silk’ and ‘Summer Snow.’ ‘Summer Snow’ is spectacular in flower and the persistent seed pods add ornamental interest into the fall. Grows to 30 feet with up to 25-foot-spread. Although the clusters of creamy white flowers, borne in early summer for about two weeks, can be spectacular, they lack the lovely, eponymous fragrance of the spring-blooming lilacs. 

Japanese tree lilac makes an excellent specimen tree for smaller yards, since it does not usually interfere with power lines or other overhead obstructions, and its spread and open habit do not cast such dense shade as to kill the grass. JT lilac is being used as a street tree in some parts of the country, and it's also popular as an accent in a shrub border, with a colorful spring show for a deck or patio. [2]

Also commonly called:
•Amur lilac – English [Syringa reticulata subsp. amurensis]
•Japanese tree lilac – English [Syringa reticulata subsp. reticulata]
•bao ma ding xiang – Transcribed Chinese [Syringa reticulata subsp. amurensis]
•bei jing ding xiang – Transcribed Chinese [Syringa reticulata subsp. pekinensis] [1]

Japanese Tree Lilac
This outstanding Morton Arboretum specimen is one of the original plantings from the time of Joy Morton's founding in 1922.

Japanese Tree Lilac

The tree is sold as a multi-stemmed specimen or as a single-trunked street tree. The trunk is often trained fairly straight to 10 feet and then it branches into a stiff, upright, rounded head of foliage. As with other Lilacs, the plant as a shrub may need rejuvenation by pruning every few years as it becomes overgrown. It is perhaps the most pest-resistant Lilac, but that does not mean it is pest-free. Regular irrigation during dry spells help make this a pest-resistant tree.

JT lilac is tolerant of urban conditions, growing in poor, clay or alkaline soil. The gorgeous flowers are most showy and prolific when the tree is located in full sun with good drainage. Plants in partial shade can be infected with powdery mildew which can cause some defoliation. Another available cultivar is ‘Ivory Silk’ which grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 to 6 into an upright oval with nice flowers which are borne in alternate years.

Pests
Lilac borers can severely affect trees in certain areas. Lilac borer larvae tunnel in the branches, causing wilting, particularly on drought-stressed trees. Severely infested branches may break off.  Lilac leaf miners tunnel in the leaves in early summer. After mining the leaf, the caterpillars emerge and spin silken webs holding leaves together, then skeletonize the foliage.

Tree lilac fruits grow upwards
Odd fruits grow upwards		 Tree Liliac Bark
Admittedly old bark

Diseases
Although usually free of serious disease, bacterial blight is most serious on white-flowered varieties. The young shoots develop black stripes or one side of the shoot turns black. Spots develop on the leaves, forming a water-soaked blotch. Young leaves turn black and die quickly. On older shoots, the spots enlarge more slowly. The flowers wilt and darken. The disease is worse when wet weather occurs as the new shoots are developing. Thin plants to increase air circulation. Remove and destroy diseased shoots and avoid excessive nitrogen fertilizer. Phytophthora blight kills stems to the ground. The leaves turn black and shoots have brown lesions on them. [2]

Classification:
Syringa reticulata (Blume) H. Hara
  
KingdomPlantae – Plants
SubkingdomTracheobionta – Vascular plants
SuperdivisionSpermatophyta – Seed plants
DivisionMagnoliophyta – Flowering plants
ClassMagnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
SubclassAsteridae
OrderScrophulariales
FamilyOleaceae – Olive family
GenusSyringa L. – lilac
SpeciesSyringa reticulata (Blume) H. Hara – Japanese tree lilac  [1]

 

Related Taxa:
Syringa reticulata (Blume) H. Hara

View 14 genera in Oleaceae, 16 species in Syringa or click below on a thumbnail map or name for species profiles. [1]

Distribution of Syringa reticulata (Blume) H. Hara ssp. amurensis (Rupr.) P.S. Greene & M.C. Chang. . Image Available.

Syringa reticulata ssp. amurensis
Amur lilac

Distribution of Syringa reticulata (Blume) H. Hara ssp. reticulata. .

Syringa reticulata ssp. reticulata
Japanese tree lilac  [1]

Japanese Tree Lilac Flowers

References
  1. USDA, ARS, National Genetic Resources Program. Germplasm Resources Information Network - (GRIN) [Online Database]. National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland.
    URL: http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/taxon.pl?36111 (09 June 2008).
  2. USDA National Forest Service Fact Sheet ST-612 October 1994
  3. NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY, National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Trees--E: Eastern Region, Chanticleer Press Ed (Knopf, 1980).
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