Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'
Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy' · Oleaceae
Pearl-pink buds open to double white flowers, so that each great cluster shows both at once. Often called the most beautiful lilac in the world.
- Size
- 11½ ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to late May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'
The planner designed this bed around lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' × 1, white
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 19, pink
- 3 Carpathian bellflower × 11, blue
- 4 Indian grass × 3, tan
- 5 Sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' × 4, yellow
- 6 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 7 Anise hyssop × 3, lavender
- 8 Hairy beardtongue × 13, lavender
- 9 Ohio spiderwort × 8, blue
- 10 Wild strawberry × 14, white
- 11 Purple coneflower × 3, purple
- 12 Spring starflower × 15, blue
- 13 Hyacinth 'Delft Blue' × 10, blue
- 14 Daffodil × 15, orange
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are bells, plumes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do Indian grass and little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 11½ ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to sweet coneflower 'Henry Eilers' (4½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for three weeks. From mid May to late May.
- Part of the bed's peak. With Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch', hairy beardtongue, ohio spiderwort and others in late May: 5 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 19 of the 21 groups (90%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The most in flower at one time is 5 kinds, in late May. The scheme leans cool (pink, blue, lavender and purple) and uses yellow and orange for warmth, with white and tan to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 11 Excellent, 5 Good, 1 Needs revision. Its weakest point is height and scale: Heights average about 10 in at the front, 18 in in the middle and 4½ ft at the back. Along the back row the heights step up and down, between 3 ft and 11½ ft, and no two neighbours are the same height. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' goes in a border
At 11½ ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
Raised by Leonid Kolesnikov in Moscow in 1947. Strongly scented, vigorous, and healthier than most. The two-toned stage lasts about a week and is worth waiting for.
- A specimen lilac
- Scent and cutting
- The back of a sunny border
What to plant with lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Lady's mantle: low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'
Does lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' need sun or shade?
Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells.
What zones does lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to late May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to early June |
| Zone 5 | Mid May to late May |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late May |
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid May |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 11½ ft (350 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'?
Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' comes from Balkan Peninsula. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Saskatoon serviceberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers late April to early May.
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 3½ ft shorter, flowers late May to late June.
- Black chokeberry 'Viking': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 5½ ft shorter, 2½ ft narrower.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer and rabbits. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after lilac 'Beauty of Moscow'?
Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' is over by late May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Peony: from late May to late June, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Siberian iris: from late May to late June, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Lady's mantle: from late May to early July, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
What does lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' look like in winter?
Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' good for bees and butterflies?
Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' is visited by pollinators, bees, butterflies, moths and hummingbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of laurel sphinx and promethea moth feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
More Syringa
- Common lilac Syringa vulgaris
- Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' Syringa meyeri 'Palibin'
- Lilac 'Miss Kim' Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim'
- Lilac 'Sensation' Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation'
- Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' Syringa x prestoniae 'Miss Canada'
- Reblooming lilac 'Bloomerang' Syringa 'Bloomerang'
In these guides
- Salt-tolerant plants for roadsides and coasts
- Rabbit-resistant plants
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Host plants for the laurel sphinx
- Host plants for the promethea moth
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7
In flower in: May
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 11½ ft (350 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid May to late May; dense clusters; white, pink
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Upright, spreading
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Comes from
- Balkan Peninsula
- Attracts
- Pollinators, bees, butterflies, moths, hummingbirds
- Host plant for
- Laurel sphinx, Promethea moth
- Stands up to
- Deer, rabbits, salt
Checked against NC State Extension and VASCAN (plants of Canada). Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.