Miss Kim Korean Lilac, Miss Kim Manchurian Lilac            si-RING-ga PAT-u-la

• Deciduous shrub, 6-8 ft (1.8-2.7 m) tall with similar width, larger with age, dense.  Leaves opposite, simple, elliptic to ovate-oblong, to 8 cm long, dull dark green.  Flowers in paired clusters, 10-15 cm long, purple in bud than light blue, fragrant.
• Sun or part shade.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4      The species (S. patula) is native to Korea and northern China.
• The well known cultivar, 'Miss Kim', was obtained from seed collected in Korea's Pouk Han Mountains in 1947 by E. M. Meader.  Upon his return to the U.S., Professor Meader germinated the seed and selected a low-stature seedling that "remained free of mildew all summer and turned Burgundy red in autumn for a delightful display" (Fiala, 1988).  The seedling was named 'Miss Kim', Kim being the most common name in Korea, and released by the New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station in 1954.