A major project was launched this spring: the planting of a collection
of late-blooming lilacs to honour Isabella Preston. Miss Preston, at the
Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, from 1920-46, was the Farm’s first ornamental-plant
breeder. She put Canada on the lilac map with her hybrids popularly
known as Preston Lilacs. Among her accomplishments were the development
of the “stenographer” group of lilies (named for the women who worked in
the Farm’s office), the rosybloom series of ornamental crab apples named
for Canadian lakes, and the Siberian irises named for Canadian rivers.
She developed a whole new group of late-blooming lilac hybrids, named in
her honour, Syringa ´prestoniae. Wild species S. villosa and
S. komarowii ssp. reflexa were selected by Miss Preston to produce late-blooming
hybrids, hardy in the Canadian climate. S. villosa was from an area
of China which experienced extremely cold winter; it was used as the seed
parent in most cases. S. komarowii ssp. reflexa was slightly less
tough but more attractive with long pendulous panicles. She also
crossed S. komarowii ssp. reflexa and S. josikaea, a European native,
and named the hybrids S. ´josiflexa. As well she crossed S.
komarowii ssp. reflexa with S. sweginzowii, another Chinese species, to
produce xswegiflexa (a cross previously done and named shortly before in
Germany). All of these species are in the Villosae series of lilacs
and are known as late-bloomers, blooming about 10 days after the common
lilac (S. vulgaris) and its cultivars. Cultivars formed from crosses
among Villosae series species are now called Villosae Group cultivars in
the International Lilac Register.
Miss Preston started hybridizing lilacs in 1920. Eighty-one of her late-bloomers are recorded in the International Lilac Register, although only about one half of these were distributed to other institutions or nurseries. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada staff and the Friends’ Lilac Team have been working for 5 years to obtain those cultivars that have gone missing from the Farm over the years. The project was initiated by George Vorauer (Friend) and Brian Douglas (AAFC). The aim is to eventually assemble all Preston cultivars that still exist. The Friends’ contribution to the project is to establish contact with other institutions to obtain plants or cuttings and to exchange information. Bruce Peart, while on staff at Royal Botanical Gardens, Hamilton, provided invaluable help donating many missing cultivars. RBG has come upon hard financial times and is no longer able to provide support of this kind to other agencies, so we have turned to doing our own propagating. Anne Vincent, volunteer, has kindly shown us the way and given us confidence in handling cuttings acquired from other institutions and as well from some of our own ageing plants. AAFC for their part are responsible for the care and maintainence of the plants. They have selected a site for the collection in the Ornamental Gardens area and this spring moved the first 20 plants from the nursery. It will take several years to complete the collection.
Although the collection will contain mainly Preston originations, other late-blooming hybrids will be included. During that era in Canada, other originators - all from Manitoba - were Dr. Frank Skinner, Hardy Plant Nursery, Dropmore, Agriculture Canada’s Morden Research Centre and Dr. William Cumming, Morden Arboretum. In addition, the Farm possesses several cultivars developed in Poland and in the U.S.A. Eventually we expect to have about 70 different types in the new planting.
This new collection of late-blooming Villosae Group lilacs, featuring Isabella Preston’s originations, will not only enhance the heritage aspect of the Farm but will show the possibilities of these lilacs in Canadian gardens and landscapes.
Joan Speirs and the Lilac Team
Friends of the Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa