October 7, 2026
Grooming My Lilac Standards
Maintaining my farm is all about attention to detail—carefully tending the gardens, groves, and allées to keep them looking their best throughout the seasons.
Outside my Winter House, a row of dwarf lilac trees—including ‘Palibin,’ Syringa meyeri, and ‘Miss Kim,’ Syringa pubescens subsp. patula, standards—lines the carriage road. In spring, these lilacs are covered with fragrant panicles of soft lavender and pink blooms that emerge from purple buds. Yesterday, Phurba Sherpa, a longtime member of my outdoor grounds crew, carefully groomed the lilacs, lightly shaping each one to preserve its natural form and keep the row looking neat and beautiful.
Enjoy these photos.
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- I have 16 dwarf Korean lilacs lining the edge of my carriage road. These trees are compact and typically five to six feet tall with rounded crowns.
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- The leaves are small, slightly heart‑shaped, green in spring and summer, and turn red to burgundy in fall.
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- In May, these trees put on quite a show. These are “Miss Kim” Korean lilac standards in spring bloom.
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- They feature long panicles of sweetly scented lavender blooms that burst from pink to purple buds.
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- Yesterday, I asked Phurba to groom all the lilacs. They have grown quite a bit this season.
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- Phurba is my resident shrub and small tree pruning expert. He has been with me for many years
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- Phurba uses Japanese shears to groom the undersides of the lilacs. When possible, I prefer hand held tools – it’s a slower process, but they make cleaner, neater, more detailed cuts compared to powered versions.
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- Everyone on my crew uses Japanese Okatsune shears. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
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- For the tops and along the sides, Phurba uses the STIHL HSA 26 Battery-Powered Hedge Trimmer. It’s one of my favorite tools to use around the farm – it’s so light and handy.
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- Because these lilacs bloom on old wood, it’s important to not trim too heavily at this time. Phurba focuses on shaping the lilacs, so they maintain their beautiful forms.
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- The precision-engineered blade creates very clean, controlled cuts that don’t damage the plants.
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- Here he is trimming the tops carefully, just removing the tips of branches that are sticking out.
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- ‘Miss Kim’ is known for being very adaptable and easy-to-care-for.
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- Here, Phurba trims the bottom sides of the ‘Miss Kims’ along the footpath to my Winter House terraces.
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- Occasionally, Phurba stops to assess his work – looking for areas the may need a little more shaping.
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- After grooming the lilacs, Phura focuses on the clean up, raking the trimmed leaves from the pits and lawn spaces below.
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- Phurba also uses a battery powered handheld blower from STIHL to clear any debris. This blower is less noisy and perfect for around my Winter House.
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- These dwarf trees are meant to have small trunks and rounded canopies, rather than sprawling shrub shapes.
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- Now these lilacs look well groomed and handsome for their fall color display.
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- In autumn, both cultivars turn deep burgundy or reddish‑purple before dropping leaves late in the season. And then next spring, we hope for gorgeous and colorful blooms once again.
This story originally appeared on Martha Stewart Blog
