Classic lilac book revisited

A classic book about lilacs has been reissued, 20 years after its original publication.

The Rev. John L. Fiala is credited as the author of "Lilacs: A Gardener's Encyclopedia." It has been revised and updated by Freek Vrugtman, International Lilac Registrator who is retired as curator of collections at Royal Botanical Gardens in Hamilton, Ontario.

The best of the 500 colored photographs are close-ups to show differences in color and petal style of these popular flowers.

Vrugtman talked in a recent telephone interview about his experiences with the book and how they differed from those of Fiala, who was terminally ill when the original book was published in 1988. Timber Press is the publisher of both editions.

• Revising the book took Vrugtman 14 years; Fiala said in what is now called author's notes that writing the book took him a decade.

• Fiala's notes and correspondence apparently were lost in a fire, said Vrugtman. But on the other hand, the second author praises the advantages of computer technology, the Internet and e-mail.

• "Chapters on color and the best lilacs are very much Fiala. Those on history and hybridizers are mostly my work," said Vrugtman. He also notes in the book that the chapters on companion plants and how to grow lilacs preserve "essential Fiala."

• Lilacs, which are native to Europe and Asia but not North America, came here in the 18th Century with settlers and gained popularity in the United States and Canada after World War II.

• While hybridizers are trying to breed lilacs that can grow in the southern United States, they are really a northern plant that needs a cold spell.

• In the 1980s not much was known about lilac breeding in areas like Russia, Poland and Kazakhstan, so that information is new in the revised book.

• Fiala grouped lilacs by color - white, violet, blue, lavender, pink, magenta and purple, but Vrugtman said acidic soil makes blooms lighter and alkaline darker. Weather conditions also affect color.

• "Lilacs: A Gardener's Encyclopedia" has 150 more pages than Fiala's "Lilacs: The Genus Syringa" and at $49.95 costs $10 less than the first book did when published.

• The colored photos are spread throughout the book near the text about them, rather than all together on plates as in the original.

- Deborah Donovan