I HAVE AN OLD LILAC BUSH NO REAL TELLEN HOW OLD! IT'S BEEN HERE FOR YEARS!THE HOUSE WE BOUGHT WAS DATED BACK TO 1862 AS FAR AS THEY COULD FIND BUT?? NOT TOO SURE HOW OLD THIS BUSH IS. I HADN'T SEEN ANYTHING ON THE BUSH FOR YEARS, THEN SIX YEARS AGO I FOUND OUT WHAT THEY WERE SUPPOSED TO BE, AND I STARTED TO TRY TO CLEAN UP AROUND IT RAKING, AND PUT SOME MERICAL GROW ON THEM ECT. ANYWAYS THEY DID FLOWER THE YEAR AFTER THAT I WAS SURPRISED,!! THEN I WAS TOLD TO PRUNE IT BACK, SO, I DID THEN HAD NO FLOWERS,! THEN THE NEXT YEAR I HAD ABOUT NINE FLOWERS! THEY STILL SEEM TO BE TRYING OUT THERE TO SURVIVE, BUT, IT IS DISCOURAGING, AS IT SEEMS ALL THERE EVER IS, IS A FEW FLOWERES! BETER THEN NONE I SUPPOSE EH? BUT! JUST WONDERING WHAT I MAY BE ABLE TO DO TO MAKE IT BETTER? OR SHOULD I JUST LET THE OL BUSH GO??? ANY SUGESTION WOULD BE APRECIATED! THANKYOU JO~

What I do with my lilacs is this: Fertilize in the early spring. Let the shrub bloom. Then prune approximately 1/3 of the oldest wood out. I cut the stems that I am pruning back almost to the ground. You will probably need a saw to do this if your bush is very old. Be sure to prune right after the lilac blooms. This pruning encourages new growth from the bottom. I prune like this every year. Hope this helps.