Syringa vulgaris Kindy Rose Gaby - Common Lilac

Syringa vulgaris Kindy Rose is a vigorous and floriferous variety of common lilac that produces large clusters of double flowers in May, combining fairly deep purple-pink buds and lighter-coloured open florets. Their fragrance is discreet but very pleasant in spring bouquets. This beautiful deciduous shrub is both hardy and adaptable to soil types, making it an excellent garden plant. Its vigour and beauty make it equally at home in a large flowering hedge, a rustic shrub border or even as a free-standing specimen in a small garden.

Syringa vulgaris 'Kindy Rose' (Gaby) is a shrub in the Oleaceae family, developed by Claude Bellion in France before 2004 and distributed by Minier Nurseries. We often forget that the common lilac, also known as the European lilac, is native to south-eastern Europe and western Asia, more specifically the Balkan peninsula, and that it arrived in Western Europe at the end of the Renaissance. In the wild, this indomitable plant with its highly fragrant blue-violet-purple flowers colonises stony hillsides and withstands cold winters.

The 'Kindy Rose' variety forms an upright and rounded bush, with a height of 3-4 m (10 - 13ft) and a spread of 2.50 m (8ft) on average. It forms a multi-stemmed bush composed, similar to the mock orange with which it should not be confused. Its triangular and heart-shaped leaves, measuring 4 to 10 cm (1.6 - 3.9 in) in length and 3 to 7 cm (1.2 - 2.8 in) in width, which are a satiny medium green, appear in spring. Flowering takes place in May, sometimes as early as April 15th depending on the region. Compound clusters called thyrses, measuring 15 to 18 cm (5.9 - 7.1 in) in length, appear grouped in pairs at the ends of one-year-old branches.  The purple-pink flower buds open into lighter, double to semi-double, lightly scented flowers. The whole bloom is a delightful blend of these two colours. This suckering variety produces numerous shoots from its base.

Easy to grow in temperate climates with good rainfall, even in mid-mountain areas, the common lilac 'Kindy Rose' thrives in ordinary, moist but well-drained, preferably chalky soils. Use it, mixed with other mauve or red varieties, in large flowering hedges, in the company of single-flowered roses, sycamores, Amelanchier, apple and flowering cherry trees. Such a hedge, planted above a sunken pathway, is a true delight in spring. It can also be used as a free-standing specimen, surrounded by a bed of ground-cover roses, in a small dedicated space, turning this modest subject into a magnificent bush, covered in glory in the heart of spring.