Common Purple Lilac vs Falsebox - TreeTime.ca

Common Purple Lilac vs Falsebox

Syringa vulgaris

Paxistima myrsinites

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2025)

CUSTOM GROW

Common Purple Lilac
Falsebox

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.

Falsebox is a native evergreen shrub found in forests, slopes, and rocky sites. Its greenery adds winter interest and provides cover to wildlife. It is used to provide ground cover, especially under established trees.

It provides shelter for small animals and birds and its inconspicuous flowers support pollinators. It is long-lived and tolerant of a range of conditions, including drought once established.

Falsebox is well suited for naturalisation projects, erosion control, wildlife gardens, and low-maintenance landscapes. It is a practical addition to restoration plantings and mixed shrub communities.

Common Purple Lilac Quick Facts

Falsebox Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 5a
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 0.5 m (1.5 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: any
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: slow
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: prostrate to spreading
Spreading: layering - medium
Suckering: medium


Foliage: evergreen, leathery leaves
Bark: reddish-brown
Flowers: dark purple, extremely fragrant
Flowers: small, maroon-purple, fragrant
Bloom time: summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: common lilac, french hybrid lilac, lilac
Other Names: false box, mountain boxwood, mountain lover, myrtle boxwood, oregon boxleaf, oregon boxwood