Common Purple Lilac vs White Fringe Tree - TreeTime.ca

Common Purple Lilac vs White Fringe Tree

Syringa vulgaris

Chionanthus virginicus

NOT AVAILABLE THIS SEASON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Common Purple Lilac
White Fringe Tree

Common Purple Lilac is a popular lilac. This large shrub provides excellent privacy or wind protection in an attractive package.

Lilac flowers are pleasantly fragrant and add a beautiful lavender colour to your property. Common Purple Lilac is cold hardy, easy to grow, and can tolerate most soil types.

Some people alternate villosa and common purple lilacs to create the impression that the hedge is in flower for almost a full month with the common purple flowering about 2 weeks sooner than the Villosa Lilac.

White Fringe Tree is known for its fringe-like white flowers. It can either grow as a small tree or a large multistemmed shrub. The White Fringe Tree has separate male and female plants. Both male and female flowers have white fringe-like petals, but the male flowers are longer and showier. The female flowers give way to clusters of dark blue to black berries. These berries are not edible for humans but attract birds and other wildlife.

The White Fringe Tree is tolerant of clay soils, saline soils, and air pollution but does not do well in prolonged dry conditions.

Common Purple Lilac Quick Facts

White Fringe Tree Quick Facts

Lowest Price: $2.49 - SAVE UP TO 64%
Zone: 2a
Zone: 3a
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 5 m (15 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 5 m (15 ft)
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: normal, wet
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no
Berries: blue to black
Flowers: dark purple, extremely fragrant
Flowers: fragrant, white clusters
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Suckering: medium
Suckering: medium

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)


Other Names: common lilac, french hybrid lilac, lilac
Other Names: american fringe tree, american fringetree, fringe tree, fringetree, north american fringe tree, white fringetree