Ligustrum Vulgare (Common Privet)

Ligustrum Vulgare (wild privet)

We call this plant semi-evergreen. Which means that it sheds its leaves in severe frost. In less severe winters, the privet will keep its leaves until spring. Then they fall out and new leaves will appear immediately. The common or wild privet is very easy to maintain. The position in where you place the plant is not an issue. And pruning is easy. In the spring the plant gets beautiful, nice smelling flowers. After that, black currants appear. However, if you prune it regularly, the Ligustrum Vulgare will not develop flowers or berries.

Privets are found all over the world. The only one native to the Netherlands is the Ligustrum Vulgare, which is the wild privet or common privet.

Why choose a Privet Vulgare?

• The common privet looks great in your garden.
• Privet Vulgare is strong and winter hardy.
• This plant grows quite quickly. The hedge is high and dense pretty fast. So plenty of privacy.
• It is semi-evergreen, but winters are not that harsh, it remains green all year round.
• You can plant it in any soil type.
• It contains nice smelling flowers, which attract many bees and butterflies.
• The black currants are true magnets for birds.
• Pruning is absolutely no problem, even down to the bare wood.

When is the best time to plant a common privet hedge?

The Ligustrum Vulgare can be planted all year round. However, winter is the best time for planting. But you have to make sure there are no freezing temperatures.

How do you plant a wild privet?

1. Make sure that there are no weeds in the soil where you will put the hedge. This way the roots can make maximum use of the nutrients in the soil.
2. Dig a trench at least 35 cm wide and 50 cm deep. For a straight hedge, it is best to stretch a rope before digging.
3. Stir up the soil in the trench. You can mix the soil with a soil improver.
4. Place the plants along the trench in the desired spot. Are you satisfied? Put the hedge plants in the trench; upright and in the center.
5. Fill the trench with soil. It is important that the roots are completely covered. The Ligustrum Vulgare does not like it when its roots see direct sunlight.
6. press the soil so that the hedge is steady.
7. Water the plants sufficiently. It is important to do this until the plants are well established.

Tips

The Ligustrum Vulgare grows everywhere, but it does not do that well in the shade. Keep in mind.

The plants like moist soil, but it shouldn't be too wet either.

You should cover the roots, they cannot withstand direct sunlight.

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. 

Placement

The wild privet can grow to about 5 meters high. Give the plants enough room to grow. Don't put them very close together.

You will need 4 or 5 per linear meter.

The Common Privet grows about 30 cm annually.

Advice & Care

• Water the Common Privet sufficiently, but not too much.
• Pruning is done between May and September. Do you want to keep the hedge tight? Prune it at least twice a year.
• Prune with a sharp hedge trimmer.
• Prune in cloudy weather. Never in direct sunlight, because then the leaves can burn.
• We recommend no more pruning after the end of September. The plant can recover before winter begins.
• Fertilize the plant once every six months. This makes it grow better, the roots do not look for nutrients in the rest of the garden and you prevent diseases. You can use special hedge fertilizer, but you can also use compost or garden peats.

Known disorders of the privet hedge

The Ligustrum Vulgare is strong, but they can get sick. You reduce the risk considerably if you: buy good quality plants, take good care of them and fertilize them every six months.

Here you will find a number of diseases and pests that can occur. Is your privet sick or are you worried about it? Please contact Haagplanten Heijen. We can know how you can battle the diseases.

Green apple bug - the foliage on the top of the privet becomes frayed and holes will form.

Privet Pintail larvae - holes appear in the leaves all over the shrub.

Small winter moth - green caterpillars eat the sprouting 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 shed.

Advantages and disadvantages of the privet

Benefits

• The plant is beautiful and graceful.
• The common privet is winter hardy.
• It is semi-evergreen. In severe winters, it will lose its leaves before new leaves appear in the spring. In less severe winters, it will stay green.
• It is an easy plant; place it where you want.
• It can be used to create a hedge with a low, high and medium height.
• The hedge of the wild privet will grow high and opaque quickly. So you will get a lot of privacy.
• The hedge plant is easy to prune.
• The Privet Vulgare is strong. If you take good care of it, diseases and pests not effect it.

Cons

• In harsher winters it may lose leaves. But in spring it will get new ones.
• The plant does not like soil that is very wet.
• The berries, leaves and flowers are poisonous. Keep this in mind for small children and pets.
• Some people think the privet Vulgare a bit old-fashioned.

Conclusion

The Ligustrum Vulgare looks great in your garden. It is a grows quickly so you will have some privacy in no time. The strong and winter hardy hedge is a welcome guest in gardens, mainly because it is easy to maintain, but also because of the beautiful, nice smelling flowers and the countless butterflies and bees that they attract.

Convinced? Order them immediately. Do you have any questions? Don't hesitate to ask them.

*Please note that bare rooted plants are not covered by the growth guarantee and right of withdrawal.