BEAUTY OF MOSCOW Common Lilac - Syringa vulgaris

🌿 General description

Botanical name: Syringa vulgaris ‘Krasavitsa Moskvy’ (trade name: ‘Beauty of Moscow’).

Family: Oleaceae (olive family).

Origin: Russia 🇷🇺

Breeder: Leonid A. Kolesnikov, renowned Russian hybridizer, in 1947.

French name: Beauté de Moscou.

Type: Deciduous ornamental shrub.

Name meaning: “Krasavitsa Moskvy” literally means “Beauty of Moscow” in Russian.

🌸 Characteristics

Mature height: 3 to 4 m, sometimes more depending on conditions.

Spread: 2.5 to 3 m.

Habit: Upright and bushy, with sturdy branches and a slightly rounded silhouette with age.

Foliage: Medium to dark green, heart-shaped, deciduous leaves.

Growth: Moderate to fast.

Hardiness: Zones 3 to 7 (about –35 to –40 °C, depending on conditions).

🌼 Flowering

Period: May to early June in Quebec (mid-season flowering).

Flowers:

• Double and very full, with 2 to 3 rows of petals.

• Grouped in large, upright, compact, pyramidal panicles.

• Clusters can reach about 20 to 25 cm.

Colour: Lilac-pink buds with subtle pearly highlights. Flowers open pale pink, becoming creamy to pearly white with age.

Fragrance: Very intense, sweet and floral.

Special feature: Beautiful contrast between pink buds and almost-white flowers makes the shrub appear to carry two colours at once.

🌞 Growing conditions

Exposure: Full sun (6 or more hours daily).

Soil:

• Rich, deep, fertile and well drained.

• Tolerates calcareous soil.

• Prefers neutral to slightly alkaline soil.

• Dislikes heavy, constantly waterlogged ground.

Care:

• Prune immediately after flowering to preserve next year's flower buds.

• Remove spent flowers to keep an attractive appearance.

• Remove basal suckers if needed.

• Apply mature compost in spring.

• Water regularly during the first few years after planting.

🌷 Garden uses

• As a specimen to showcase exceptional flowering.

• In shrub beds or flowering hedges.

• Near a patio, walkway or window to enjoy the fragrance.

• In romantic, classic or country-style gardens.

• Excellent cut flowers for beautiful fragrant bouquets.

💡 Did you know?

‘Beauty of Moscow’ is considered one of Leonid Kolesnikov's great horticultural masterpieces.

Created in 1947 by crossing ‘Belle de Nancy’ and ‘I. V. Michurin’.

Flowering is especially spectacular thanks to pearly pink buds opening into nearly white double flowers.

The Russian name ‘Krasavitsa Moskvy’ is also used in international horticultural registers. Do not confuse it with ‘Pride of Moscow’ (‘Krasnaya Moskva’), a different cultivar with single purple flowers.