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I think it's a beautiful state and we plan on moving there sometime in the near future. I love to garden and lilacs are one of my fave flowers and I was hoping I would still be able to enjoy them if I move there.
I don't live in Tennessee but some of the seed catalogs I have gotten in the mail of late show that TN is mostly in hardiness zone 6 with small sections in zone 7... They also have reblooming lilac bushes that are zoned for zones 2 through 9.
Based on that info it seems to me lilacs just may do okay in most parts of TN...that's a good thing because I like you like lilacs and miss them greatly...they don't do well here in TX where I am now. The closest thing we have to lilacs here is Crape Myrtle, and that really doesn't come close anywhere close in frangrance, appearance is close, but not exactly the same...
If I get to move to TN in the next couple of years, I'm looking forward to growing them...
Hope someone who knows for sure can give you a better answer...
I think it's a beautiful state and we plan on moving there sometime in the near future. I love to garden and lilacs are one of my fave flowers and I was hoping I would still be able to enjoy them if I move there.
It is a beautiful state and I love living in it. Lilacs are gorgeous to look at but there scent gives me headaches so I won't grow them.
Tennessee is considered to be middle south when speaking about gardening (not geography or politics!) or it is called a transition area (not north and not deep south but having aspects of both). It is mostly Zone 6b and 7a which falls within the outer range for lilacs of a 7b. Tennessee is a big state and there is a big difference between the Smoky Mountains, the Plateau and Memphis when it some to heat and humidity as well as winter cold. Lilacs run into difficulty with warm winters and very hot, humid summers.
For much of the state most varieties of lilac will survive any winters easily but can be damaged by the sudden late freezes. Most problems arise with the heat and humidity of summer here. Lilacs are prone to powdery mildew, scale, and a number of pests which are much more common in humid conditions. If you research the varieties that do better in the south you should find a few to your liking that will be more resistant.
Edit to add a zone map that is up to date to help you find what zone you will be moving to. Recently the zones have been shifted to reflect changes in growing seasons that have been measured and some catalogs and websites have not updated theirs to reflect it yet:
There are many different varities of Lilacs and they can be grown in most zones. TN has a variety for that area, check with your local nursery or extension svc.
I could not get lilacs to grow to save my life in Memphis, not even the Persian lilac.
Up here in the northeast corner of the state I have seen them growing in peoples yards.
They don't seem to be as prolific as they were where I grew up in MI, but I am encouraged enough to try to give it a go this year and see if I have any luck with growing them.
This is a little off topic, but just 2 days ago I was talking to a coworker about lilacs. He said he was told that lilacs only flower every other year. I grew up in Colorado with lilacs in the backyard. We must have had 10 of them. I don't remember a bush going without flowers. Anybody know anything about every other year flowering?
kiwifruit2....I've lived in TN for 8 yrs..moved from NY and loved my lilacs. The house that we bought here already had 2 lilac bushes in the yard and they bloom every year.I trim the bloom off every year. I started a new one from a runner, so I'll see what happens this year. The only thing I find is they don't stay in bloom for long. BUT they are lilacs. Good Luck!
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A little off topic
