I miss the Lilacs that grew 'back home'.
Lots of stores sell Lilacs here in zone 8a, 8b and 9; they happily take our money but forget to tell the plants to grow and thrive.
Which varieties have a chance to succeed here in the southeast? Anyone have any long-term luck in these zones?
Thanks

I live in Seattle, and ive always had bad luck with them. despite being in the "north".

Greene, I have several I brought with me from MI and this year, the third year here, I got several blossoms. No name, just old fashioned, both white and lilac.

We can't grow lilacs here, but Vitex is a great substitute.

Thank you, abhege. You give me some hope.

Thank you, for the suggestion porkpal. But it's the scent of the Lilac blooms that I am missing; Vitex just doesn't smell the same.

You know, my mother grew lilacs where we lived in SoCal, and that area is labeled as zone 10b. Once in a great while we'd see a bloom, but that was because she had planted them to use as a living fence and kept them hacked back. The occasional blooms were white.

Hey, woofie, maybe someone can hack off a piece or two and stick it in the mail. My address is..... Just kidding.
I'll keep researching and hope to find a Lilac that will be happy in my humble garden.

Ha! Last time I looked at a satellite image of our old house, it looked like those darn things were still growing, over 50 years later! Actually, I find it hard to believe that the HOUSE is still there!

I used Google Images to see a street view of my maternal grandmother's house. The pink Dogwood that my dad planted for his Mother-in-Law back in 1956 is still visible and growing good.

Sigh, I just looked again, and looks like someone got rid of the lilacs in favor of a redwood fence. I hadn't looked for 3 or 4 years. They've repainted the house, too. Looks nice, tho.

They call that 'progress'.

Found this: Lilac Trees That Can Be Grown in Zone 9

http://homeguides.sfgate.com/l...

If it can do zone 9 then zone 8 must be good!

Oh, good find, Anne!

Thank you, Xeramtheum.
That is a good shopping list. I am eyeing about four on the list and will start checking availability. When I'm looking for something specific, if I give the names to my local independent nursery they try their best to order for me.
Thanks a bunch!