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Oleaceae FAMILY

Syringa villosa

Syringa villosa

Edibility
0/5
Medicinal
2/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitDeciduous Shrub
Growth—

Syringa villosa is a very cold tolerant plant and grows in regions where the mean annual precipitation is within the range 350 - 7500mm[1]. The plant grows best in a sunny position on loams, silt loams, and silty clay loam soils, not doing well on heavy clays[1]. Plants respond well to coppicing, and will generally regrow from the base if cut back by fire[1]. Plants produce new shoots from the base of old stems, but they do not produce suckers and so do not spread vegetatively[1].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a north facing cold frame. Pre-treating the seed with 4 weeks warm then 3 weeks cold stratification improves germination. It is probable that sowing the seed as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame would be a more reliable method[PFAF]. Prick the seedlings out into individual pots once they are large enough to handle. Plant them out in the summer if sufficient growth has been made, otherwise grow them on in a cold frame for their first winter and plant out in late spring of the following year. Cuttings of young shoots, 7cm with a heel, early summer in a frame[2]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 7cm with a heel, mid summer in a frame[2]. Layering in spring before new growth begins. Takes 12 months[3]. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Syringa+villosa>

Pollinators

Bees

References

  1. [1]Plants Database — United States Department of Agriculture · http://plants.usda.gov/java/factSheet ↩︎An online database with an excellent collection of fact sheets about native N. American plants.
  2. [2]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  3. [3]Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. — Sheat. W. G. · MacMillan and Co · 1948 · ISBN - ↩︎A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.
  4. [4]Flora of China — Missouri Botanical Garden Press; St. Louis. · 1994 · http://flora.huh.harvard.edu/china/ ↩︎An excellent, comprehensive resource in 25 volumes. In addition to the botanical information the flora also gives basic information on habitat and some uses. An on-line version is also available.
  5. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎