Winter hardiness
Very winter hardy
Pruning
25-35cm a year
Growth rate
Once a year
The Ligustrum*, or privet is a very strong hedge plant. It provides a graceful touch to your garden. The Ligustrum grows quickly, so your hedge will be high and closed in no time. So nobody can look into your garden. We call this plant semi-evergreen. Which means that it only drops its leaves in severe frost. If we have "normal" winters, the privet just keeps its leaves until spring. Then they will fall and new leaves appear.
Privet is an easy plant that doesn’t really mind where you place it. It is also winter hardy. You can easily prune it. Even down to the bare wood. Beautiful flowers appear in the spring that give off a nice scent. After the blooming period, black currants appear. Note: if you prune it very often, it will not bloom and create berries. The privet plant allows you to create casual and formal hedges. Differences in height are also possible: high, medium or low. This depends on what kind of privet hedge you want.
There are different types of privet hedges, each with their own characteristics. The types you can order from Haagplanten Heijnen are:
Ligustrum Ovalifolium - this plant has deep green, oval-shaped leaves and is suitable for creating low to medium hedges, up to 5 meters high.
Ligustrum Vulgare - This privet has narrow, elongated, green leaves. You can use this plant to create very low to medium hedges with a maximum height of 5 meters.
Ligustrum Vulgare Atrovirens - with this privet you can be sure that the hedge will have leaves all year round. It has narrow, elongated green leaves. This privet has a maximum of 4 meters.
You will come across privets all over the world.
You can plant your Ligustrum all year round. The best period is winter, then the hedge is already used to your garden in spring. Make sure that you do not plant the hedge when it is freezing.
Be careful not to place the privet in the shade. It will not grow in the shade.
Do not water the plants too much or too little. Look for a happy medium.
The roots cannot stand direct sunlight this. So make sure they are all covered.
When ordering this plant, please note that there is a 10 per cent plant failure rate. For this reason, we recommend ordering 10 per cent extra plants and placing the remaining plants in an unused area of your garden. The plants will then grow just as fast with the rest of the plants and this way, you will always have enough spare plants in case of failure. In case of failure, simply replace the broken plant with one of the spare plants. As these plants are in the same growth phase as the rest of your hedge, you won't even notice that a plant has been replaced.
The Ligustrum can grow to about 5 meters high. This does depend on the species however. Give the plants enough space to grow. Don't put them very close together.
You need about 5 plants per linear meter.
The privet grows between 20 cm and 40 cm per year. This depends on the species.
No matter how strong the privet is, it can always develop diseases. So make sure you order quality plants, take good care of them and fertilize them every six months. This way you significantly reduce the chance that your privet hedge will get sick.
Below you will find the most common diseases and pests. Is your privet sick? Contact us. We can provide you with advice on what to do to combat the disease.
Green apple bug - the foliage on the top of the privet becomes frayed and holes form.
Privet Pintail larvae - holes appear in the leaves all over the shrub.
Small winter moth - green caterpillars eat the growing tips of the young leaves.
Brush beetle - this beetle eats the soft parts of the white flowers.
Verticillium - the privet withers. This is due to a soil fungus that disrupts the flow of sap in the roots.
Leaf spot (Cercospora) - brown and black spots develop on the leaf. The leaves will eventually fall off.
The strong and hardy privet (Ligustrum) creates a graceful hedge in your garden. It grows quickly and thus ensures that you can enjoy your privacy. In spring, lovely flowers appear in the plants which also smell good. You will enjoy this, but they also attract butterflies and bees.
Are you convinced? Order your privet plants right away. If you have any further questions, please contact us.
*Please note that bare rooted plants are not covered by the growth guarantee and right of withdrawal.