Can this lilac be saved?

[rpfromak]

I’ve never done a good job pruning my lilac and now it is a straggly collection of branches with the leaves popping out mostly at the ends of long thin branches (see picture). Is there any way to prune back this lilac so it could grow as a a fuller bush? If so, what should be pruned and when should I do it? (Although it is already nearly June, the spring and the plants return very late in the colder part of Anchorage, Alaska where we live)

 

[cpp gardener]

First, lilacs should be pruned immediately AFTER they bloom. If you prune before they bloom, you will cut off all the flowers. Feed it well this Summer and let it grow for 2 Summers before you trim it again. When you DO prune it again, remove small twiggy growth and save strong, mostly vertical, growth. Think something like a rose bush, only a bit fuller. They really don’t need much more than thinning out old twiggy growth.