Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine' Tree

The yellow spring buds of Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine' open to reveal panicles of closely clustered tiny white double flowers in May-June. The flowers give off a delightfully strong yet sweet fragrance and attract butterflies and bees. The white flowers stand out against the back-drop of mid green, heart shaped foliage.

Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine' requires a well-drained soil in a sunny spot but is tolerant of alkaline soils. Lilac Madame Lemoine was bred by the famous French horticultural family, the Lemoines, hence the name and has received the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

We offer this White Lilac as either a Lilac bush that will grow to around 4 x 4 metres in 20 years or a standard Lilac tree with a clear stem that makes a stunning feature. Click here to go to all Lilac trees and bushes.

AKA Common White Lilac tree, Lilac Madame Lemoine, Syringa 'Madame Lemoine'

• Common name: White Lilac tree
• Awards: RHS Award of Garden Merit
• Height and spread in 20 years: 4 x 4 metres
• Seasons of interest: Spring, Summer
• Foliage: Heart-shaped, light green deciduous leaves
• Soil: Prefers a moist, well-drained site and will tolerate most soil types

Planting Advice for Syringa vulgaris Madame Lemoine Trees

Our pot grown Madame Lemoine White Lilac trees can be planted at any time of the year. Choose a sunny position for the planting site and start by removing weeds and grass within a metre of your desired planting hole. Dig a square hole as deep as the root mass and approximately 2x as wide. To help the tree establish more effectively, we recommend sprinkling root grow in the hole.

Remove the pot, gently tease the roots and place into the planting hole. Mix 50% of the original soil with 50% compost and fill in the hole. Firm around gently, avoiding banking soil up around the collar of the plant. Whilst bush forms of Madame Lemoine Lilac do not require a stake support, single stem tree forms do.

Aftercare Advice for Syringa Madame Lemoine Trees

If you’re planting in spring or summer, water well for the first few months. Increase watering if there are extended periods of hot or dry weather. If planting in autumn, you may only need to water a little. Irrigation kits make it easier.

Once planted, keep the area free of competing weeds and grass for the first couple of growing seasons.

Pruning Syringa vulgaris Madame Lemoine Trees

Pruning is encouraged when it comes to Madame Lemoine White Lilac trees. If you wish to maintain a bush rather than a tree, allow the side growth to flourish and simply prune after flowering. For a tree effect, prune the longest, oldest branches that lie closest to the ground.

If your Madame Lemoine White Lilac begins to look overcrowded, remove inner branches to allow more light and air inside the canopy. Always prune dead flowers and damaged or diseased branches.

Mature Lilac trees that have become overgrown can be hard pruned back to their former glory, but it will take time. Never prune a lilac tree back by more than a third of its size. Do this one season at a time, allowing the tree to recover in between. Apply a fertiliser each autumn and again in spring, just before flowering.

Delivery Costs

1 small tree (most under 1.5 metres in height) : £9.95 + vat

1 medium tree (most 1.5-2 metres in height) or 2-4 small trees: £11.95 + vat

2+ medium trees or 5+ small trees: £14.95 + vat

1-4 trees delivered by pallet to kerbside (inc. mature Japanese Maples): 24.95 + vat

Mature trees, pleached trees or orders too large for pallet: Cost is calculated in the checkout process and varies by postcode not quantity. Starts from £48 + vat.

The above prices exclude the Scottish Highlands, where delivery starts from £24.95 + vat and is calculated in the checkout process. Please note, we are unable to deliver outside of Mainland UK.

Delivery Timescales

All trees are carefully packed by our experienced team and most are delivered within 3 weeks of placing the order, unless stated otherwise. Due to a high volume of orders, current lead time is 3-5 weeks. There's no need to be in to receive your order and you can request where it is left via the checkout.

For pleached and mature trees (trees over 2.5m in height), we group orders together by geographic area for specialist delivery - we will contact these customers about the delivery date.

Trees on pre-order are still growing and an estimate of when they will be ready is on the product/basket page. Orders are despatched once all trees are ready.

Gift trees and those required by a specific date can be accommodated with pleasure, although we accept no legal responsibility for late deliveries.

Our nursery is a busy despatch centre, so please make an appointment to collect or view trees.  For collections, despatch charges will be refunded.

The product table at the bottom of the page gives the forms and sizes available for this variety. Please note, photos are a guideline as all plants are unique. Below are definitions of terms:

Supplied Size: Height measured from the top of the pot.

Single Stem / Pruned and shaped: Classic shaped tree with a single stem that has had pruning to help create a beautiful, natural shape.

Top grafted: A height noted next to this form refers to the length of clear stem, which will not grow taller. Only the head of branches will develop. Top grafted trees do not require complicated pruning and are ideal for small spaces.

Feathered: A feathered tree has branches from the bottom of the trunk all the way up. These branches can be removed if a clear stem is required.

Multi Stem: A multi stem tree has two or more stems arising from or near ground level, growing from one root system.

Bush: A plant with many stems low down, rather than one clear stem.

Clump: Several plants in one pot that can give the appearance of a multi stemmed and very bushy tree.

Climber: A plant that is a natural climber and will be delivered usually running up a bamboo cane, ready to position in the garden.

Standard Tree: A more mature tree with an upright clear stem of approximately 1.8m-2.0m (measured from the soil to the lowest branches of the crown). Standards are available in different forms relating to their girth size (circumference of the stem measured 1m above soil level), not height:

Standard  either 6-10cm or 8-10cm girth, approximately 2.5-3.0m in height
Premium Standard  10-12cm girth, approximately 3.0-3.5m in height
Heavy Standard  12-14cm girth, approximately 3.5-4.5m in height
Extra Heavy Standard 14-16cm girth approximately 4.0-6m in height