u/Jindallae

We moved in last year and are just now getting on top of yard maintenance. We're tackling a massive, overgrown lilac thicket that I believe has blight, based on curled and twisted branch tips. I've been doing what I can reach by hand and pruning, but the scale is overwhelming and I'm not sure where to actually start.

A few complicating factors:

• There's a large gap in the middle, suggesting it might be two separate plants
• Two substantial young maple trees are growing inside the thicket, which we want to preserve and relocate
• Many buds are ready to bloom, but others look diseased
• The diseased brown buds are mostly at the top, beyond my reach

**My main questions:**

1. How do I identify which branches are actually blighted versus just unproductive?
2. Should I prune all branches with no leaves/buds, or go further down and saw the large trunks if most branches on that section are dying/dead?
3. Are wavy or oddly-shaped branches a sign of infection, or just new growth?
4. What's the best way to tackle this~should I remove it entirely, drastically cut it back, or take a more gradual approach?
5. Any tips for working around the maple trees?

Currently, I'm mostly just breaking off dead pieces by hand and raking debris from the base, and that has lent itself to the massive piles you can see in the pictures.