Images may show mature specimens and are provided as a guide only. As plants are living products, the size, shape and appearance of the stock supplied may vary from the images shown.

Nursery Direct

Katherine Havemeyer Lilac

Syringa vulgaris ‘Katherine Havemeyer’

Regular price $800.00 AUD
Regular price Sale price $800.00 AUD
Sale Sold out

Everything is included in this price: the plant, free delivery and professional installation

The price you see is the whole job: the plant supplied, delivered free and professionally installed. Done for you.

Supplied in 400mmtypically 1.5 to 2.5m tall on delivery

Want to see the actual plant?

The photo shows this species, not the individual plant reserved for you. Send us an enquiry and we usually reply within 1 business day with photos of the actual stock available in the size you want.

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Getting it in: this size needs about 900mm of clear access. Measure the narrowest point on the route and tell us on the booking call. Standard access is included in the price, and anything unusual is quoted and agreed with you before work begins. What happens on installation day

Looking for a larger size?

Sizes shown are the sizes we currently source in this species. If you need larger specimens, project quantities or a size not listed, our sourcing team can look for it through our national supplier network. We confirm your exact stock with you on the booking call before anything ships.

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You order. We do the rest.

After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. Nothing else for you to organise.

Registered Australian business, ABN 33 683 675 603. Public liability certificates available on request.

Product Details

Overview & Specifications

Price includes everything: the plant, free delivery and professional installation by our planting team. One price, whole job done.

Katherine Havemeyer Lilac - Syringa vulgaris ‘Katherine Havemeyer’

‘Katherine Havemeyer’ is one of the heavyweight double lilacs, carrying dense conical panicles of tightly packed florets that open deep lavender purple and soften towards lilac pink as they age. Syringa vulgaris in this form is grown for perfume as much as colour, and the scent from a mature plant will carry across a courtyard on a still spring evening. It belongs in cool temperate Australian gardens, where winter is genuinely cold enough to set flower buds properly.

Why ‘Katherine Havemeyer’

Double florets: Each floret has multiple layers of petals, so the panicle looks solid and holds colour longer than single forms.
Colour transition: Buds open purple lavender and fade towards a pinker lilac, giving two tones on the bush at once.
Perfume: Among the more strongly scented of the old double cultivars, and excellent as a cut stem.
Mid season bloom: Flowers in the main flush of the lilac season, generally September to October in southern Australia.
Chill requirement: It needs a properly cold winter, so it suits Tasmania, the Victorian and New South Wales highlands, the Adelaide Hills, Canberra and the Granite Belt rather than coastal warm districts.

Ideal Applications

Cottage garden anchor: A mature bush gives height and scent behind perennial borders in cool climate gardens.
Scented walkway: Positioned beside a path or seat so the perfume is met at close range in spring.
Cutting garden: The heavy panicles cut well for the house, and picking doubles as useful pruning.
Informal boundary: Planted in a run it makes a tall, loose deciduous screen with a spectacular few weeks each spring.

Specimen & Installation

Spacing (screening/hedge): 2 to 2.5m apart
Spacing (feature/avenue): 3 to 4m apart
Best Planting Season: Winter while dormant, or early autumn in milder cool climate districts
Soil & Drainage: Free draining, neutral to slightly alkaline soil is essential, and acidic soils benefit from an application of garden lime
Establishment Care: Water deeply once a week through the first two summers, keeping the crown itself dry, and mulch well clear of the stems. Prune immediately after flowering rather than in winter, because next season's buds form on wood produced through the coming summer.

Plant Details

Height: 3 to 4m
Width: 2.5 to 3m
Growth Rate: Moderate
Foliage: Deciduous
Light: Full sun, at least six hours daily for reliable flowering
Native to: The Balkan Peninsula of south eastern Europe (the parent species)
Flower Colour: Lavender purple ageing to lilac pink

Delivery & Installation

Delivery and installation are included in your price

No freight calculators and no separate installation quote for a standard installation. Your price covers specialist plant transport, positioning and professional planting by our installation team. The whole job, handled.

Delivery & installation Included
  • Wrapped, secured and transported by specialist plant freight.
  • Professionally planted, staked and finished by our install team.
  • Our team confirms site access and schedules a time that suits you.
How It Works

Installation

Professional installation included, never extra

Every plant we sell is planted by our professional installation team, and it's already in the price. We coordinate the delivery, the machinery and the planting for standard site access, so your only job is choosing the tree. Unusual access or engineering requirements? We'll confirm everything with you after checkout before any work begins.

Questions? Send An Enquiry

Why Nursery Direct

Every price includes supply, delivery and installation

Buying a mature tree often means three separate jobs: the plant, the freight and finding someone to plant it. We price the whole job as one: the tree, the delivery and the professional install.

  • One price: supplied, delivered and installed
  • Mature trees and specimen palms at every scale
  • National sourcing for hard-to-find stock
  • Residential, estate and commercial projects
Contact Our Sourcing Team

How It Works

Place your order. We do the rest.

1

We Supply

Premium advanced stock, selected from a national network of wholesale growers.

2

We Deliver

Specialist plant freight brings your order to your door. Free, anywhere in Australia.

3

We Install

Our professional team plants, stakes, mulches and finishes the job on site.

Good To Know

Questions, answered

What exactly is included in the price?

Everything for a standard installation: the plant itself, free specialist delivery to your property, and professional installation by our planting team into prepared or accessible ground, with no freight fees added later. If your site needs a crane or other difficult access work, that is quoted separately and agreed with you before anything is booked, never after. Difficult access has its own question on this page.

How does installation work?

After you order, our team contacts you to confirm site access and book a day that suits. On the day, your plants arrive by specialist freight and our installers position, plant, stake and mulch them, then leave the site tidy.

When will my order arrive?

Most orders are delivered and planted within 2 to 4 weeks of your booking call. After checkout, our team contacts you to confirm details and book the delivery and planting day, so you have a date before anything ships. Timing can vary with stock location and your area, and we confirm your exact day with you.

What if my site has tricky access?

Standard installation covers planting into accessible ground and is included in every price. If your site involves cranes, tight access or special machinery, we assess it with you after you order and agree on everything before any work begins. Always before, never after.

Do you offer a plant guarantee?

Yes, and it runs well past delivery day. Every plant is inspected before dispatch and protected in transit, and we guarantee it arrives alive and in reasonable condition. Beyond that you have a 30 day plant guarantee, and a 1 year conditional replacement warranty: if a plant fails within 12 months of delivery despite following our care recommendations, you can submit a claim for assessment. Claims need photographs of the plant and the planting site plus details of watering, drainage and soil, because living plants depend on the conditions they are put into. The full terms are in our refund policy.

What if the exact plant or size I order is not available?

Every plant is sourced to order from our grower network, so before anything ships we call you to confirm the exact stock we have secured, the size and the delivery day. If the plant you chose is not available in the size you wanted, we tell you on that call and go through the options with you, whether that is a different size, a close alternative or waiting for the right stock. Nothing is loaded onto a truck before you know what is coming. Full details are in our refund policy.

Can I plant outside the best planting season?

Yes. We deliver and plant all year round. The best planting season shown on each listing is about ideal establishment, not a restriction: planting in that window usually means less watering and a faster settling in period. Our team adjusts how a plant is installed and watered in for the conditions on the day, and if you are planting through peak summer heat or a cold snap we will talk you through the extra care it needs on your booking call.

Will this plant suit my climate?

Australia covers a lot of climates, and a plant that thrives in Brisbane can struggle in Ballarat. Every listing states the mature size, the light it wants and where the species comes from. If you are not certain a plant suits your frost, heat, wind or coastal exposure, send us an enquiry before you order and we will tell you honestly whether it is right for your site. We would rather talk you out of the wrong plant than replace it later.

Can I order for a large project?

Yes. For project quantities and commercial supply, use the Request Project Pricing button on any product and our sourcing team will put together a complete package: supplied, delivered and installed.