Tree Following: lilac puzzle time

Well, the lilac is bushing out, and the leading shoot is around three feet long now. I might even have to take the shoot nearest the wall away, as it looks set to jut over the pavement.

There are some odd things going on, though. Some of the youngest shoots have gone black and died off.

One of the larger shoots seems to be wilting.

And the lower leaves on the strongest shoots have grown enormous. The picture shows one covering my hand.

Does the tree do this to try to gain more photosynthesis?  My fear is that the root system is too great to be sustained by the current leaf area and the tree is trying to compensate (if you have an opinion on this, please feel free to chip in. I'm merely supposing here). That might explain the dead shoots, too.

So, will Husband turn out to be right - the tree will run out of energy, albeit more quickly than he supposed?  Anyway, it's engendered another experiment. Bob Flowerdew recently opined on Gardeners' Question Time that it was extremely difficult to get lilac cuttings to take. But most people aren't taking brand-new growth straight from the trunk, so I thought I'd have a go. I've got a couple going - one of the very short, new crinkly leaved shoots, and one of the slightly older, soft growth. Both I tore off at the base.

They spend most of their time under a plastic bag with holes cut in it, but I removed that for posing purposes. We'll just have to see what happens. The soft growth wilted but has now perked up, so I'm mildly hopeful that something may come of it.

This is part of Lucy's Tree Following meme at Loose and Leafy, where she's discovered that her pine "talks". Why not pop over and see what's happening around the world?

Comments

[Notesofnature]

Great post, Helen. I'll look forward to seeing how your lilac cuttings go as I'd like to try the same.
On the stem that has died back, did you notice if it had wilted first? If so, it might indicate a fungal infection blocking the vascular elements. In which case you should cut the wilted stems off and either burn them or put them in the green bin if you have one. Fingers crossed it'll be ok.

[Lucy Corrander]

Now it is Three-Tree Following!

[Helen]

It might be, Lucy. Or one tree following and two burials. We'll have to see.