Companion plants for Lilac
Lilac blooms from April through May. It wants full sun and moderate water. The 8 companion pairings below each state why the pairing works.
Taking over as Lilac finishes
Purple Coneflower
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Lavender
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; evergreen, so the bed keeps its shape through winter.
Aster
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early fall, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Blazing Star
Shares full sun and low to moderate water; blooms in midsummer, extending the bed's season; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; its seed heads stand through winter, for structure and the birds.
Trumpet Vine
Shares full sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; climbs to 26 ft behind it, height without the footprint.
Japanese Stewartia
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; blooms in early summer as this one finishes; both offer pollinator forage, in different months; taller at 16 ft, for the layer behind it.
Lobelia
Takes full sun to part sun and moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into early fall; low at 8 in, to carpet the ground beneath; both offer pollinator forage.
Fan Flower
Shares full sun and moderate water; overlaps, then carries the display into mid fall; low at 8 in, to carpet the ground beneath; echoes the purple.