Syringa vulgaris Souvenir de Louis Spaeth - Common Lilac

Syringa vulgaris 'Souvenir de Louis Spaeth' remains to this day one of the best varieties of Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, both for its robustness and its ease of cultivation. It bears very long clusters of single flowers, with a rare, rich dark-red colour, which can be described as a burgundy purple. Its vigour allows it to be planted in a large flowering hedge or a wild shrub bed. An easy and generous deciduous shrub that should be grown in every garden, regardless of its style and size. Its clusters of subtly scented flowers are wonderful in flower arrangements.

Syringa vulgaris 'Souvenir de Louis Spaeth', also known as S. vulgaris 'Andenken an Ludwig Späth', was first discovered in Germany in 1883 by Franz Ludwig Späth. It is a shrub from the Oleaceae family. Common lilac, also known as European Lilac, is actually native to Southeast Europe and Western Asia, specifically the Balkan Peninsula, and it only arrived in Western Europe at the end of the Renaissance. In nature, this untamable plant with its highly scented blue-violet-purple flowers, colonises rocky hills and withstands cold winters.

The 'Souvenir de Louis Spaeth' variety forms a large shrub with a medium growth, and an upright and rounded habit. It reaches a height of less than 4 m (13.1 ft) and a spread of 1.5 m (4.9 ft), on average. It spontaneously forms a bush composed of multiple stems, similar to the mock orange with which it should not be confused. Its deciduous leaves are triangular and heart-shaped, measure 4 cm to 12 cm (1.6 in to 4.7 in) long and 3 cm to 8 cm (1.2 in to 3.1 in) wide, and appear in spring in a fairly dark green colour, with a satin finish. The flowering takes place in May or June depending on the climate. At the end of one-year-old branches, long compound clusters called thyrses appear, sometimes reaching 30 cm (11.8 in) in length. Their shape is rather slender. The violet-coloured flower buds open into single flowers with four petals, the corolla forming a long tube at the base. Their colour is a saturated red-purple, both rich and dark. They emit a pleasant, fairly light, very floral scent.

Easy to grow in well-drained soil, in almost all climates, 'Souvenir de Louis Spaeth' is an essential shrub in a flower garden. Use it in large flowering hedges mixed with other varieties in white, mauve, pink or red, accompanied by roses with single flowers, mock oranges, deutzias, serviceberries, styrax or large buddleias (B. macrostachya, B. officinalis, B. alternifolia). A hedge of lilacs, flowering cherries, Chinese almonds, Japanese quinces and ornamental apple trees, planted overlooking a sunken path, is a true delight in spring. It can also be used as a standalone plant, surrounded by a ground cover rose bed, in a small space dedicated to it, to turn this modest subject into a grandiose shrub, covered in glory in the heart of spring.