Dwarf lilac ‘Red Pixie’

* Common name: Lilac ‘Red Pixie’

* Botanical name: Syringa x ‘Red Pixie’

* What it is: A dwarf hybrid lilac that blooms heavily for about three weeks, starting in mid to late May. Flower cones start out reddish-purple and fade to pink.

Like most lilacs, ‘Red Pixie’ is also sweetly fragrant, and this variety is among the most disease-resistant ones on the market.

* Size: 5 to 6 feet tall and wide.

* Where to use: Excellent spring-blooming shrub for a sunny border or a sunny island bed. Compact enough for use as a foundation shrub in southern and western exposures. Fragrance makes it a good choice around a patio.

* Care: Improve soil with compost before planting. Keep well watered the first year until roots establish, then water needed only in bad droughts. Prune, if needed, right after flowers fade in June. An annual spring scattering of a granular organic fertilizer formulated for flowering shrubs is optional.

* Great partner: Vinca, leadwort, or creeping phlox make good groundcover underplantings. Salvia is a good perennial partner that blooms in purple around the same time.