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Confused Lilac Bush #948133

Asked November 05, 2026, 10:16 AM EST

It seems that ever since we had that bad drought then there was a really bad blight that happened either 2020, 2021 or 2022. Ever since then I've had a few of my large, 40 year old lilac bushes acting somewhat confused. It's currently 11/5/26 and I've got portions of a few bushes with flowers where the majority of the surrounding bushes that make up a large hedge in my yard have lost or are losing their leaves. I keep hoping it may resync itself to bloom at the same time all of the other ones do in the spring. Is there anything I can do to help get it to stop blooming in the late fall? The other thing that happens is that because they are blooming so late the blooms that are there now end up dying instead of going through their normal full cycle of blooming, wilting and hibernating and end up just turning black and rotting come spring. Just overall not pleasant looking.

Carver County Minnesota

Expert Response

Thank you for your question.

It’s due to the weather and the biological clock of the lilac. I’m pretty sure that this “confused” lilac showed flowers last June (2026) in a normal fashion. Then it underwent the summer months when 2027 flower buds were being formed. Along comes our late October and now November weather with well above average temperatures. Your lilac probably thought spring had arrived and so it started to bloom for a second time. There really is nothing that you could have done to have prevented this. I suggest that you just leave everything alone and hope that come spring 2027, normal blooming will return albeit somewhat reduced. This late blooming could also be attributable to heat stress that your lilac experienced during our 2026 summer. Again, there really was little that you could have done to have prevented this. See the following for further information:

https://restorelilacway.com/lilacs-reblooming-confused-by-fall-weather/

https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/faq/why-my-lilac-blooming-fall-instead-spring

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2024/09/09/confused-minnesota-lilacs-produce-rare-fall-blooms

https://northerngardener.org/late-bloomers/

Please get back to us if you have any further questions. Thanks for using our forum.

An Ask Extension Expert Replied November 05, 2026, 10:45 AM EST

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