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Lilacs show their colors in October

By Staff | Nov 1, 2000

For the first time in the three years that Cindy Curry has lived in west Tonganoxie, her lilac hedge at Fourth and Cox streets has bloomed in the fall.

“They smell really good, and I think they smell prettier now than they did in the spring,” Curry said.

Sy Nyhart, Leavenworth County extension agent, said it’s unusual, but not unheard of, for lilacs to sport autumn blooms.

“It got so hot and dry in August that they went through the dormancy period then,” Nyhart said. “Then we had rains in October and it froze for a few nights and the plants must’ve thought it was spring. They shot buds and put on flowers.”

Unless the bushes experienced a sudden deep freeze soon, they will most likely bloom in the spring, too, Nyhart said.