国际丁香协会 (International Lilac Society) – 每年五月召开丁香年会

国际丁香协会 (International Lilac Society, ILS) 成立于 1971 年, 在美国纽约州注册为 501(c)(3) 非营利组织, 总部设在美国。协会把世界各地喜爱丁香的人聚到一起, 通过交换栽培经验和研究成果, 推广对丁香属 (Syringa L.) 的认知。会员来自苗圃业者、教师、园艺师、景观设计师、科学家、植物园和树木园工作人员, 以及普通爱好者。协会现有 12 位理事组成董事会, 由会员选举产生, 设有主席、执行副主席、会员秘书、财务长、期刊主编, 以及加拿大、欧洲分区执行副主席和若干区域副主席。

协会的常设工作包括编辑出版季刊《LILACS》, 维护丁香品种国际登录与名录, 资助丁香研究和稀有品种保育项目, 以及每年五月在丁香花期时于不同地点举办年会。

ILS 使命与组织

协会章程把工作重点归纳为三项: 教育、出版、研究。

1971 年, ILS 在美国纽约州以非营利公司形式注册成立, 受纽约州法律管辖, 同时以 501(c)(3) 身份在美国国税局备案。董事会由 12 名理事组成, 由会员选举, 任期 5 年 (章程允许连任); 董事会再互选产生执行副主席、会员秘书、财务长和期刊主编等职位, 并委任加拿大与欧洲分区的执行副主席, 以及若干区域副主席。会员秘书兼任丁香品种国际登录权威 (International Registrar for the Genus Syringa)。

协会日常工作分成几个常设委员会, 包括研究委员会、出版委员会、保育委员会和审计委员会, 这些委员会由志愿理事和会员推动, 接受董事会监督。

季刊《LILACS》与出版

协会的旗舰出版是季刊《LILACS》, 由来自俄亥俄州阿克伦市的 Tom Gober 担任主编, 每年四期, 每期包含原创研究、栽培经验、丁香文化历史和品种介绍。每位会员都能收到纸本或电子版刊物; 所有过往期刊目录都已电子化, 会员可通过 ILS 网站的可排序电子表格检索, 较早的期刊也提供在线版供查阅。

新加入的会员还会收到两本丁香栽培入门 PDF: John Alexander 著的《Lilacs》与 John Bentley 著的《Lilacs: A New Hampshire Perspective》。前者侧重丁香修剪、繁殖与日常养护, 后者从新罕布什尔州的州花身份出发, 讲述丁香在美国东北部的栽培史。协会也会以折扣价向会员提供其他丁香专题出版物, 包括稀有的栽培指南与历史专著。

品种登记与保育

丁香属 (Syringa) 品种的国际登录和名录由 ILS 长期维护。会员秘书兼品种登录权威 Mark DeBard 持有 230 多个丁香品种的私人收藏, 是协会数据更新的重要来源。协会把历年来全球命名的丁香品种整理到一份可排序电子表格中, 涵盖 1400 多个栽培品种, 任何会员都可以按花色、花期、株型、原产地等维度检索; 协会另维护一个 1 万张以上的丁香花彩色照片数据库, 与名录配套使用, 方便爱好者比对品种外观。

保育委员会 (Preservation Committee) 把工作集中在北美地区, 主要任务是: 鉴别、定位那些被公认为品质优秀但因稀少而濒危的栽培品种; 帮助把这些品种扩繁, 然后分发到公立与私立苗圃, 确保下一代爱好者仍能见到它们。许多有价值的栽培品种当年没有进入商业苗圃规模化生产, 数量稀少, 一旦母株老化就面临消失风险。委员会的工作内容包括分株、嫁接、组织培养, 以及与公立植物园合作开展育种试验。协会每年向保育委员会划拨少量资金, 同时公开向会员和公众募捐, 2026 年的募捐活动持续到 2026 年 12 月。

年度大会

协会每年五月 (丁香盛花期) 在设有丁香专类园的植物园或树木园召开年会, 历届地点包括 Wolcott 丁香园 (俄亥俄州肯特市, 2025 年主题 “Lilacs Past and Present”, 园内 300 多个丁香栽培品种)、魁北克城 (2026 年, 与 Maizerets 公园丁香专类园及 Saint-Georges 丁香博物馆联动), 以及纽约市 (2024 年)。年会议程通常包括:

• 主题公园丁香专类园参观 (Wolcott 丁香园拥有约 230 个栽培品种, Saint-Georges 丁香博物馆有约 600 株丁香、其中 450 株带标签);
• 区域丁香园和植物园访问 (例如 Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens、Secrest Arboretum, 后者占地 110 英亩、收录 3500 多种木本与草本植物);
• 会员开放花园开放日 (2025 年 Mark DeBard 在哥伦布的私家花园对外开放, 园内有 180 多个栽培品种);
• 安静拍卖 (Silent Auction) 与丁香拍卖, 为保育项目筹款。

年会的会议纪要、新一届理事选举结果与下一届举办地的揭晓, 都在季刊《LILACS》次年首期公布。

会员福利与社区

ILS 会员资格向所有对丁香感兴趣的个人、家庭、机构开放, 也接受苗圃与零售业者作为商业会员加入。会员每年可获得:

• 季刊《LILACS》纸本或电子版;
• 历期期刊可排序目录与在线版本访问权;
• 年度会员通讯录;
• 年会参会资格 (园区和活动单独收费);
• 新会员专属的两本丁香栽培入门 PDF;
• 罕见、稀有丁香品种的获取渠道 (通过保育委员会与年会拍卖);
• 1400 多个丁香品种的可排序名录访问权;
• 1 万张以上丁香花彩色照片数据库访问权;
• 出版物会员折扣;
• ILS Robin 邮件群组 (会员之间的栽培交流渠道);
• 世界各地丁香园、植物园、专类园的访问信息;
• 世界各地丁香相关活动 (讲座、开放日、节日) 公告;
• 丁香专业苗圃的销售链接清单;
• 商业会员可在 ILS 零售与批发网页列出;
• 协会理事选举与年度事务投票权。

官方网站: https://www.internationallilacsociety.org

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Mission and Governance

The International Lilac Society (ILS) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation incorporated in the State of New York in 1971. Its members — nursery staff, educators, landscape architects, scientists, arboretum staff, and amateur gardeners — are linked by a shared fondness for the genus Syringa L. The Society’s charter sets its work in three directions: education, publication, and research.

ILS is a administered by a 12-member Board of Directors elected by the membership. Officers include a President, an Executive Vice-President, a Membership Secretary (who also serves as International Registrar for the Genus Syringa), a Treasurer, an Editor, Executive Vice-Presidents for Canada and Europe, and Regional Vice-Presidents distributed across the globe. Standing committees handle research, publications, preservation, and audits.

The ILS Mission and Purpose, taken from the Society’s by-laws, is to bring together people who share a particular appreciation and fondness of the lilac, and through the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and facts gained by members, to increase individual knowledge of the lilac and to promote a broadened public understanding of Syringa. The thrust is three-fold: education, publication, and research.

ILS was incorporated in New York State in 1971 and is governed as a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation under the laws of New York State and the United States. The 12-member Board is elected to five-year terms; officers are then chosen by the Board. Committee work — research, publications, preservation, and audit — is carried out by volunteer members under Board oversight.

Current Officers (as of 2025-2026):

• Dr. Robert A. Zavodny, President (Akron, Ohio) — elected 2018; maintains a historic 230+ cultivar lilac garden in Kent, Ohio.
• David Gressley, Executive Vice-President — elected to a 5-year term in 2025; ILS member since 1988.
• Mark DeBard, M.D., Membership Secretary and International Registrar for Cultivar Names of Syringa; maintains 230+ cultivars in Columbus, Ohio.
• Tom Gober, Editor of the quarterly journal LILACS, based in Akron, Ohio.
• John Bentley, Treasurer (elected 2021) — based in New Hampshire (the lilac state flower); founder of The Katie Bentley Lilac Project.

Quarterly Journal and Publications

The flagship publication is LILACS, a quarterly full-color journal compiled and edited by Tom Gober. Each issue carries original research, cultivation notes, cultivar profiles, and historical articles on the genus Syringa. Members receive each issue in print or electronic form.

A sortable spreadsheet index of all past quarterly journals, along with online versions of older issues, is available to members through the ILS website. New members receive two introductory PDF booklets: “Lilacs” by John Alexander and “Lilacs: A New Hampshire Perspective” by John Bentley. Other lilac publications are offered to members at discount prices.

Cultivar Register, Photo Database, and Preservation

The ILS maintains the International Register and Checklist of Cultivar Names for the Genus Syringa. The Register is available as a searchable spreadsheet covering more than 1,400 cultivars, allowing searches by flower color, bloom time, plant habit, breeder, year of introduction, and other criteria. A separate color photo database of more than 10,000 lilac photographs supplements the Register.

The Preservation Committee of the ILS concentrates its work in the Western Hemisphere. Its dual goals are to identify, locate, and mitigate the risk of high-merit lilac cultivars ceasing to exist due to rarity, and to facilitate the propagation and distribution of these rare cultivars to public and private gardens across the United States. Many cultivars of merit were never put into mass nursery production; limited propagation has left them vulnerable. Preservation work includes taking divisions of rare cultivars, grafting scions onto rootstock, tissue culture, and shipping plant material to and from partner organizations. ILS funds a small share of this work each year and raises additional public donations; the 2026 Preservation Committee Fundraiser accepts contributions through December 2026. Five U.S. residents who donate are entered into a raffle to win a rare lilac unavailable in the common marketplace.

Annual Conventions

Each year ILS holds its Annual Convention at rotating host gardens and arboreta with established lilac collections, timed (whenever possible) to coincide with regional lilac bloom. Recent conventions:

• 2026: Québec City, Québec. Hotel Ambassadeur, 3401 Boulevard Sainte-Anne. Visits to Montmorency Falls (higher than Niagara), Maizerets Park lilac collection, and the Lilac Museum of Saint-Georges (about 600 lilacs, roughly 450 labeled). Convention dates: 21-24 May 2026.
• 2025: Wolcott Lilac Gardens, Kent, Ohio. Theme “Lilacs Past and Present.” Built up from 1920 onward by Daisy Lodge Wolcott with a gift of more than 100 French lilac varieties sent by her uncle, Col. William R. Plum; today the restored English-style garden holds 300+ cultivars. Side visits to Stan Hywet Hall & Gardens and Secrest Arboretum (110 acres, 3,500+ plant taxa).
• 2024: New York City, Sheraton New York Brooklyn Hotel, 2-5 May 2024.

Members may also participate in pre- or post-convention open-garden days; in 2025 Mark DeBard opened his Columbus, Ohio collection (180+ cultivars) on 1 May and 5 May.

Convention business — including Board elections, the financial report, and the announcement of the following year’s host — is reported in the first issue of LILACS each year.

Member Benefits and Community

ILS membership is open to individuals, families, and institutions, as well as to nurseries and retailers as commercial members. Benefits include:

• The quarterly journal LILACS;
• Access to a sortable spreadsheet index of past journals and to online versions of older issues;
• An annual member directory;
• Eligibility to attend the annual ILS convention at gardens and arboreta with established lilac collections in bloom (separate fees for activities);
• Two introductory PDF booklets for new members (“Lilacs” by John Alexander and “Lilacs: A New Hampshire Perspective” by John Bentley);
• Opportunity to obtain rare and hard-to-find lilacs for your garden (through the Preservation Committee and the annual auction);
• Access to a sortable spreadsheet of the Register of Syringa cultivar names (1,400+ cultivars);
• Access to the world’s largest lilac color photo database (10,000+ photographs);
• Discounts on lilac publications;
• Participation in the ILS Robin email chat;
• Access to articles on lilacs published by other organizations;
• Access to lists of lilac events, public collections, and specialty sellers worldwide;
• Listing on the ILS Retail and Wholesale pages for commercial members;
• Voting rights in the election of Board members and annual business;
• Reports of ILS-funded research.