Preston lilac 'Miss Canada'
Syringa x prestoniae 'Miss Canada' ·
Deep red buds open to clear, bright pink flowers in early summer, two weeks after the common lilacs have finished.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Late May to mid June
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around preston lilac 'Miss Canada'
The planner designed this bed around preston lilac 'Miss Canada' 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 preston lilac 'Miss Canada' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' × 1, pink
- 2 Bloody cranesbill × 6, white
- 3 Winter heath × 8, purple
- 4 Indian grass 'Sioux Blue' × 3, tan
- 5 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 6 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' × 3, blue
- 7 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 8 Palm sedge × 3, green leaves
- 9 Meadow sage × 8, purple
- 10 Pincushion flower 'Butterfly Blue' × 11, lavender
- 11 Wild quinine × 3, white
- 12 Creeping phlox 'Emerald Blue' × 8, blue
- 13 Snowdrop × 10, white
- 14 Red spider lily × 13, red
- 15 Darwin hybrid tulip × 12, orange
Why this plant
- The only dense clusters. The others are open bowls, bells, plumes and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only pink.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 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 Italian bugloss 'Dropmore' (4 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 mid June.
- Fills no gap. Every week it is in flower, at least four other kinds are too. It thickens a season that is already full.
Planned as an English border: 14 of the 17 groups (82%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The back corners are held by preston lilac 'Miss Canada' and Indian grass 'Sioux Blue', the tallest plants on the plan. Pincushion flower 'Butterfly Blue' flowers longest, for 21 weeks.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. 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 preston lilac 'Miss Canada' goes in a border
At 8 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.
The Preston lilacs were bred in Ottawa by Isabella Preston for the Canadian prairies: hardy to zone 2, late enough to miss frost, and they do not sucker.
- Extending the lilac season
- The coldest gardens
- A non-suckering hedge
What to plant with preston lilac 'Miss Canada'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; medium leaves against its bold ones; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for three weeks, from late May; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Shrubby cinquefoil: in flower together for two weeks, from early June; fine leaves against its bold ones; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about preston lilac 'Miss Canada'
Does preston lilac 'Miss Canada' need sun or shade?
Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' 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 preston lilac 'Miss Canada' grow in?
USDA zones 2 to 7. It is hardy to zone 2, which means it survives winter nights down to about −40 °F (−40 °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 preston lilac 'Miss Canada' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to mid 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 | Mid June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
| Zone 5 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to mid June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to early June |
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 preston lilac 'Miss Canada' 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 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many preston lilac 'Miss Canada' 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 there a native plant like preston lilac 'Miss Canada'?
Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Elderberry 'Black Beauty': the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 8 in narrower, wants moist soil.
- Red osier dogwood: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, medium leaves, not bold.
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not pink, medium leaves, not bold.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after preston lilac 'Miss Canada'?
Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' is over by mid June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Shrubby cinquefoil: from early June to mid September, 3 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall.
What does preston lilac 'Miss Canada' look like in winter?
Preston lilac 'Miss Canada' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Syringa
- Common lilac Syringa vulgaris
- Dwarf Korean lilac 'Palibin' Syringa meyeri 'Palibin'
- Lilac 'Beauty of Moscow' Syringa vulgaris 'Krasavitsa Moskvy'
- Lilac 'Miss Kim' Syringa pubescens subsp. patula 'Miss Kim'
- Lilac 'Sensation' Syringa vulgaris 'Sensation'
- Reblooming lilac 'Bloomerang' Syringa 'Bloomerang'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 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
- Late May to mid June; dense clusters; pink
- Leaves
- Bold texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 2 to 7
- Light
- Full sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. 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.