This was a great year for lilacs. Here's how to make sure next year is, too.

I can only imagine what the tourists thought as they toured around Southcentral last week. What a year for lilacs, especially the plain old common ones, syringa vulgaris. You all know what I am talking about. Every single lilac bush in town was in full display and it was simply remarkable and fantastic. The fragrance, the yellow swallowtails flitting around from flower to flower, the sheer size of what used to be little bushes. Wow.

As a garden columnist, I can always tell year to year that it is a good or bad bloom. Fewer people ask me why theirs didn't flower when we have good lilac and so far I have not had that question tossed at me once.

Lilacs do flower better in alternating years, so that may be the best explanation for your display. And, yes, sure part of the reason we are having such displays has to do with the fine, warm weather we are experiencing. Still, don't forget the flowers you enjoy this year started forming immediately after those that appeared last year. The winter had more to do with this than anything, in my opinion. More and more I am convinced we have so many flowers this year because the moose were not starved into eating lilacs last winter, thanks to low or no snow cover.

In any case, now is the time to prune lilacs if you are so inclined. Why would one want a smaller bush? Perhaps it is blocking a window or you can't see out your driveway. Or perhaps it was damaged by browsing ungulates, heavy snow or the mower. Otherwise, the bigger the better as you will have more blossoms even in an off year.

The general rule is you can take up to one-third of the older branches out per season. No one is counting, however. Do what you need to do to shape your plants, keep them lower and generally revitalize an old plant. Use a sharp, clean pruning saw or pruner. No pastes or salves are needed on the cuts; they do more damage than good.

It helps to have two sets of eyes when pruning a lilac. One set steps back and directs the other. Or, use surveying tape on selected branches and step back yourself to make sure you have the right ones selected. Once they are cut, they are gone forever.

Next, cut out the little limbs that are crossing others or otherwise detracting from the shrub's shape and look. You want to cut down to just above a bud. Here is a trick: You will notice that some of the buds point right and others left. You want to have that first bud remaining on the the limb pointing to the outside side of the bush, because this is the direction the branch will grow. (Obviously, if you want to fill in an area, do the opposite and the branch will grow inward.)

You'll also need to decide what to do with the flowers.

For years and years, based on my father's advice, I deadheaded our bushes. I would spend an hour simply picking off dead flowers, at least those that were not used for displays. Then one day I read about a lilac that was discovered in a clearing in the forests someplace in New England. It was a couple of hundred years old and blooming like crazy.

Wait a minute. Didn't my father say I had to clip back the old flowers to get blossoms? He was obviously wrong.

Well, not exactly.

Deadheading helps increase blooms in that alternative year. And, if you pull or cut a spent lilac flower at its base or to the nearest bud (pointing outward), two new branches form instead of just one. This means you will get double the amount of flowers (in theory at least) because you will have two new branches. My dad must have wanted maximum numbers of flowers.

As I noted last week, we usually don't clean up under shrubs so yours are probably pretty well mulched naturally. If you see bare soil or grass, however, it is a good idea to mulch with small to medium bark chips or, best of all, leaves.

Finally, there is a good chance your lilac will get hit by a powdery mildew. I've had it. It doesn't seem to impact the plant or its ability to flower in the following year. I would say don't worry about it.

Jeff’s Alaska Garden Calendar

Greenhouses: Is yours ventilated properly? If temperatures inside get to 90 or so, your plants will stop growing.

Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini: Are your plants getting pollinated? If they are in a greenhouse, they may need your help; use a small paintbrush or cotton swab taken from flower to flower. Shake tomato plants. Some folks vibrate theirs with an electric toothbrush.

Sweep: Just sweeping your driveway and walks will give the place a more landscaped look.