Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'
Syringa meyeri 'Palibin' · Oleaceae Popular
A dense, rounded lilac that stays small enough for a mixed bed and is smothered in fragrant lavender-pink flowers in late spring. It does not sucker like common lilac.
- Size
- 5 ft tall, 6 ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to early June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'
The planner designed this bed around dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' × 1, lavender
- 2 Roman chamomile × 22, white
- 3 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 16, blue
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 6 Lowbush blueberry × 8, white
- 7 Hardy gladiolus × 5, pink
- 8 Persian fritillary × 4, purple
- 9 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 5, purple
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are daisies, open bowls, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only lavender.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So does lowbush blueberry.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 5 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 wild quinine (3½ 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 late May to early June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With lowbush blueberry, hardy gladiolus and ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' in late May: 4 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 11 of the 12 groups (92%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by brown-eyed Susan and dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin', the tallest plants on the plan. White is the colour seen most, on 3 of the 9 kinds grown for their flowers.
The planner's own design check: 9 Excellent, 8 Good. 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 dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' goes in a border
At 5 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is tall (4 to 5 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.
Two weeks of scent, then a dense green dome for the rest of the year, which is exactly what a backbone shrub should be. Plant late-flowering perennials in front, so the bed has something to say after the lilac is over.
- Scent in late spring
- A rounded shrub as the backbone of a mixed bed
- Low screening
What to plant with dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for two weeks, from late May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Catmint 'Walker's Low': in flower together for three weeks, from late May; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (24 in) to stand in front of it.
- Purple coneflower: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'
Does dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' need sun or shade?
Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' 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. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' 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 dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to early June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Early June to mid June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to early June |
| Zone 6 | Mid May to early June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to late 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 dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' be planted?
5 ft (150 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6 ft (180 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 5 ft (150 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 5 ft (150 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 5 ft apart: three plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' 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 dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'?
Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' comes from Northern China and Korea, northern Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Black chokeberry: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in narrower, white, not lavender.
- Ninebark 'Dart's Gold': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in narrower, white, not lavender.
- Arrowwood viburnum 'Blue Muffin': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 12 in taller, 12 in 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 dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'?
Mostly not. NC State lists it as resistant to deer. No plant is proof against a hungry deer in a hard winter, but this one is low on the menu.
What flowers after dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin'?
Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' is over by early June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Purple coneflower: from late June to early September, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Daylily: from late June to early August, 2½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' look like in winter?
Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' good for bees and butterflies?
Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' is visited by butterflies and hummingbirds.
More Syringa
- Common lilac Syringa vulgaris
- Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy'
- 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
- Plants for slopes and banks
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Plants for hummingbirds
- Plants for butterflies
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 5 ft (150 cm) tall, 6 ft (180 cm) wide
- Plant
- 5 ft (150 cm) apart
- Height class
- Tall (4 to 5 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to early June; dense clusters; lavender
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Comes from
- Northern China and Korea, northern Japan
- Attracts
- Butterflies, hummingbirds
- Stands up to
- Deer, drought, heat, poor soil, erosion
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.