The intriguing looks and distinct aroma that Lilacs provide make them one of the most-appealing flowers for decorating a property’s landscape. With minimum attention needed to grow this plant, most homeowners want lilacs in their yards. However, there are certain rules to follow so that lilacs don’t damage your property in any way. Read on to find out what these rules are and how you can implement them while planting lilacs in your garden. Let’s look at how far to plant lilac from a house.
Lilac Planting Rules:
Before learning about the distance you must create between lilac plants and your house, here are a few important planting rules to follow:
Spacing Is A Must- The first thing you must know when planting lilacs is that they grow only when provided with a massive amount of space. Before planting a lilac shrub you have to create a space with a width of at least 8 feet, and to plant a hedge you will have to create a space with a width of at least 7-8 feet.
Keep It Sunny- To ensure that the Lilac plant blooms to its fullest you must provide it with sunlight for a minimum of 6 hours, otherwise, it will fail to flower properly.
Soil Requirements- The soil in which Lilac is to be planted must be properly-drained, and must be almost alkaline in nature. Also, it should be rich in humus. If you find that the condition of the soil is not up to the mark, put in compost to enriching it.
Also, at the time of planting add on lime (handful), and repeat this application two times a year. Doing this will ensure that the shrubs stay healthy for a long time.
Proper Drainage- The drainage of the planting site must be proper and well-maintained. Lilac will not flower in the presence of excessive water.
Make sure that you plant lilac either during the fall season (preferred) or the spring season.
Understanding Lilac’s Root System:
The roots of the lilac plant cannot be considered to be invasive, provided you create sufficient space between the house and the shrub/tree. With ample space to grow the risk of possible harm to the home’s foundations is quite low. The roots of a lilac shrub grow and spread up to 1.5 times its width.
What Is The Optimal Distance From The Property At Which Lilac Is Planted?
The answer to how far to plant lilac from house is to plant the shrub at least half of the distance to which they spread when mature, from the foundation of the house. This means that if a lilac shrub can spread up to 20 feet in width, it should be planted at a minimum distance of 10 feet from the house. Generally, lilac is planted at 12 feet or 4 m distance from a house to avoid possible damage to its foundation.
How Can Lilac Roots Potentially Damage A Property?
Here are some situations in which lilac plants can potentially damage your property:
Proximity To Pipes- The roots of lilac are always in search of water and nutrients, and they follow the sources if there is the least resistance. While the lilac roots may happen to penetrate leaking sewer or water lines, causing breakage in water pipes is not common for these roots. Planting your lilac at a minimum distance of 8-10 feet from the sewer and water lines lowers the damage risk, even when there are cracks in the pipes.
Clayey Soil- Again, using heavy soil for planting lilac, which shrinks when dry and swells up when wet, can lead to damaging the house foundation. When the climate is dry, the roots of lilac pull in lots of water from the soil tip, leading to dramatic shrinkage of the soil that may cause the foundation of your house to develop cracks.
When the swelling of soil occurs after a rainy spell, the cracks on the foundation do not retract but continue to remain. Therefore, it is best you avoid planting lilac in heavy soil like clay.
Shallow Foundation- The chances of the roots of lilac bush breaking out of a foundation’s side are pretty low. Such damage takes place when the roots are able to reach the base of the foundation below the soil. Because the plant has a shallow root system, the roots can reach the base of the foundation only when the foundation is shallow. In a house whose foundation is deep, lilac roots don’t cause much damage.
How Far To Plant Lilac From House: Final thoughts
Hopefully, what’s discussed above has helped you get a better understanding of how you should plant lilac in your landscape and what distance you must maintain for the proper growth and development of this unique plant.