Syringa vulgaris Capitaine Baltet - Common Lilac

The Syringa vulgaris 'Capitaine Baltet' is an old French variety endowed with a magnificent fragrance, both sweet and powerful. The bush produces a multitude of blue-mauve flowers in spring or early summer over a long period. Its flexible growth and languid, rather irregular habit are dressed in medium green, heart-shaped foliage. This variety, which possesses the charm and solidity of an old family of plants brings a touch of nostalgia in the garden. It is as interesting in a flowering hedge or as a single plant as it is in bouquets. It adapts to all soils and will be happy in full sun or in partial shade.

The Syringa 'Capitaine Baltet' is a variety obtained by Victor Lemoine in 1919, belonging to the Oleaceae family. It comes from the wild species Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, native to southeastern Europe. 'Capitaine Baltet' forms an erect and deciduous bush, with a somewhat spread out habit, rising to 3 m (9 ft 10 in) 25, with a span of 2 m (6 ft 7 in) 50. Its growth is quite fast, encouraged by rich and fresh soil. This variety flowers abundantly in April-May, sometimes until June, in the form of very fragrant pyramidal thyrsus, 10 to 20 cm (3.9 to 7.9 in) long, made up of small single flowers, mauve in colour with blue touches. These inflorescences are grouped in pairs at the end of the previous year's shoots. By regularly pruning faded flowers, it is possible to observe a small resurgence in summer. The flowering attracts many butterflies.

Fragrance, flowering, childhood memories or even as a symbol of a significant event, everyone has a good reason to love lilacs, as endearing as they are unpretentious. The Lilac 'Capitaine Baltet' is no exception: easy to grow and very vigorous, it embodies the charm and simplicity inherent in old gardens. It is a major element for the creation of a scent garden, and its flowering will accompany that of hawthorns and cytises, as well as the flowering bushes of tree peonies. It can be planted at the edge of a grove, in groups, alone or as a mixed free hedge with other small trees (flowering apple trees, Japanese cherry trees, Chinese almond trees, Japanese quinces, deutzias...). Its beautiful, very fragrant clusters are appreciated in bouquets, along with garden iris, campanulate and peonies, in spring.