Never Have I Seen This in the Fall in New York

Over the last few weeks, I have seen people on social media asking "Why are my Lilacs blooming in the Fall? I hadn't thought much about it until today.

I was headed down my road balancing my usual morning cup of coffee when I just happened to glance at my neighbor's yard and noticed that their lilac bush was in full bloom. I had to stop and back up to be sure I was really seeing what appeared to be lilacs in October.

Why Are Lilac Bushes Blooming in the Fall in New York?

Yep upon backing up and getting out to snap the photo, I realized that bush is in bloom as if it is May. So my next mission was to figure out why and see if the bush in my yard had also bloomed.

From what I have read, this Fall bloom on a lilac bush has to do with our Summer weather. As you all recall we had an extremely hot and humid Summer add this to a cold snap then a warm patch of weather in the Fall can result in lilac bushes blooming again.

SEE Also: Why a Christmas Cactus Blooms at the End of October

Back in September people all over New York started asking why their lilacs were blooming. Document cases came from all over the state. One case even made the CBS 6 Albany News. The phenomenon is rare but has been known to happen.

I decided that I would check in on my lilacs when I got home and discovered that mine aren't in bloom they actually look almost dead. So why is my bush so different from my neighbors?

One reason could be that we have different types of lilacs. That can be a factor in the Fall bloom. The other reason which is more likely is that their bush is in an open space as mine is against a building.

According to everything I read the September / October bloom has a direct correlation to environmental conditions from the summer, heat and humidity, and also the bush's ventilation. The lack of ventilation causes a fungus to set in which causes the leaves and buds to die which is what has happened to mine.

Sadly though for my neighbor and anyone else who has lilacs that bloomed in the Fall, you will now most likely not have any blooms in the Spring. Apparently, new buds don't regrow for next year.

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