Although it’s impossible to say for sure what happened to your lilac, here are some of the things to think about when a plant looks like yours.
1. Plants usually droop like this from either too much or too little water. To little and they can’t keep their stems straight, and if it’s too much their roots rot and so can’t absorb the water they need for firm stems, leaves and flowers.
2. Did you put this in a container that has a drainage hole? If not, it might be too wet. Did you water the entire plant well, let it drain, and then water again once the soil felt dry? Sometimes people error by giving a plant just a little water (because they are afraid of over-watering) but a little water isn’t enough to moisten the entire root ball and surrounding soil.
3. Did you pot this in good quality potting mix? The color and texture of what we see in this photo look odd – like maybe it’s peatmoss, woodchips, or vermiculite instead of potting soil. If so, remove it from this material and repot using new potting mix.
4. Did anything get sprayed or dumped on the plant before or after you potted it? Hot water, perhaps? This will kill the roots so the plant will look as if it is dry and wilted.
Additionally, lilacs usually do best when planted outdoors in the summer or fall and left to grow with a dormant period. Keeping one alive indoors is challenging under the best of circumstances. lilacs are prone to powdery mildew and while it’s unlikely that this would kill a plant, and it’s a cosmetic problem on established lilacs, that on a young plant inside it might weaken the growth.
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