First Editions® Virtual Violet® Bare Root Lilac Bush

About First Editions® Virtual Violet® Bare Root Lilac Bush

Syringa ‘Bailbridget’ — First Editions® Virtual Violet® PP30,286
Breeder: Don Selinger | Type: Deciduous Flowering Shrub | Hardiness: Zones 3–7

💜 Violet flowers are only the beginning—Virtual Violet® carries shades of purple through its buds, stems, new leaves, and even its leaf stalks.

Virtual Violet® is a modern lilac with an old-fashioned soul. In spring, raspberry-purple buds open into wonderfully fragrant violet flowers, creating a spectacular display against newly emerging foliage edged in violet.

But unlike many lilacs that become simply green once flowering finishes, Virtual Violet® keeps the color story going. Its deep-purple stems and violet leaf petioles retain their coloring well into summer, giving this shrub ornamental interest long after its fragrant spring flowers have faded.

🌸 Flower & Garden Details

Flower Color: Violet purple from raspberry-purple buds
Fragrance: Strong, classic lilac fragrance
Bloom Season: Spring
Foliage: Dark green with violet-toned new growth
Stems: Deep purple
Habit: Dense and strongly upright
Size: Approximately 6–8 feet tall × 5–7 feet wide
Light: Full sun
Hardiness: USDA Zones 3–7
Disease Resistance: Remarkably resistant to powdery mildew
Pollinators: Attracts pollinators
Cut Flower: Excellent
Best Uses: Fragrance gardens, flowering hedges, privacy screens, foundation plantings and cutting gardens

💜 More Than a Purple Lilac

The name Virtual Violet® couldn't be more appropriate.

Purple appears throughout nearly every stage of the plant: shiny new leaves emerge with violet coloring, stems are deep purple, flower buds are raspberry-purple, and those buds eventually open into fragrant violet blossoms.

Even after flowering, the leaf stems—or petioles—continue showing violet well into summer.

Virtual Violet® was bred by Don Selinger, a longtime Bailey Nurseries breeder, from a controlled cross between the beloved old-fashioned lilac ‘Charles Joly’ and two outstanding selections from the U.S. National Arboretum.

The result feels wonderfully classic while performing like a much more modern landscape shrub.

💛 Why Grace Rose Farm Loves It

Virtual Violet® doesn't stop being interesting when the flowers are finished.

Of course we love those fragrant violet blossoms—they're exactly what you want from a lilac. But the purple stems and violet-toned new growth make this plant especially beautiful.

We also love its upright shape. Rather than becoming an enormous rounded lilac that consumes half the garden, Virtual Violet® grows more vertically, making it especially useful for creating a flowering hedge or fragrant privacy screen.

And perhaps best of all for lilac lovers: it's remarkably mildew resistant.

Beautiful flowers. Incredible fragrance. Purple stems. Healthy foliage.

That's a lot to love in one lilac.

🌿 Growing & Care

Plant Virtual Violet® in full sun for the strongest flowering and best overall habit. Choose a location with well-drained soil and enough room for the shrub to mature to approximately 6–8 feet tall and 5–7 feet wide.

Lilacs form their flower buds for the following year after they finish blooming, so any significant pruning should be done immediately after flowering in spring. Avoid heavy pruning in fall or early spring, or you may accidentally remove the coming season's flowers.

For an incredible spring display, plant several Virtual Violet® lilacs together as a fragrant flowering hedge. Cut a few stems while they're blooming and bring them inside—the perfume alone is worth growing this one.