Enlist this easy-to-grow shrub as a privacy screen or living fence.
You’ll love its ample foliage, pretty white flowers, and dark-hued berries.
With its lustrous deep-green foliage, privet makes a dense privacy hedge or living fence.
Credit: Dency Kane
Some varieties also have golden foliage, while others may be variegated with gray-green mottling or even cream-silver edges.
These plants grow quickly and are not bothered by pollution in urban configs.
They’re also fairly salt-tolerant.
Credit: Dency Kane
Privet berries and leaves are toxic to animalsand humans.
Where to Plant Privet
Plant privet in well-draining, moist soil with apH of 6.0 to 8.0.
If the soil doesn’t meet these requirements, amend it before planting.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
The only thing it can’t handle is soggy soil.
Privet plants are attractive in mass plantings or standing alone as specimen plants.
They are useful for wind-proofing a garden and for noise reduction.
Credit: Denny Schrock
So if you’re looking for anevergreen hedge, this is not the plant for you.
Chinese or Japaneseprivetare non-native species and considered invasive in some parts of North America, including the Southeast.
Remove the privet from the container and loosen some of the roots around the outside of the root ball.
Credit: Lynn Karlin
If the privet is root bound, spray the roots with water and then attempt to loosen them.
Continue to fill the hole.
Planting privet as a hedge is similar to planting a lone privet.
Dig a trench 2 feet wide and 2 feet deep.
Water deeply and apply aged mulch under the plants.
Soil and Water
Privet preferswell-drained, evenly moist soilwith a neutral pH.
Water new shrubs weekly if there isn’t enough rainfall.
Older privets are fairly drought-tolerant but need water if there are extended periods without rain.
When it’s very hot, they need extra water.
Fertilizer
Apply a broadleaf shrub fertilizer in the spring and fall.
For the amount to use, follow product label directions.
This will encourage the plants to become bushier.
On the other hand,twig blightor anthracnose may be more challenging to fix.
How to Propagate Privet
Privet can be propagated via cuttings or seed.
Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting and dip it in rooting hormone powder.
Fill an 8-inch container with soilless mix and moisten the planting medium thoroughly.
Insert the bottom of the cutting into the medium and firm the medium around it.
you might fit three or four cuttings in each container.
Check the container every few days to ensure the planting mix stays moist.
The cuttings should root in four to six weeks.
Test them by removing the cover and carefully tugging on a leaf at the top of the cutting.
If you feel resistance, the cutting has rooted.
When rooting occurs, remove the plastic bag permanently.
Wait until the cuttings have robust root systems and transfer each one to its own 6-inch container.
Loosen the top 6 inches of soil and add well-rotted compost.
Sow twice the number of seeds as you need for mature plants, two in each location.
Press them 1 inch deep and tamp the soil over them so there is good soil/seed contact.
Moisten the soil but don’t overwater it.
Types of Privet
Common Privet
Ligustrum vulgareis the hardiest of privets.
Deciduous in cold-winter areas, it grows 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
It is an invasive species in some states.
Zones 7-10
Japanese Privet
Ligustrum japonicumfeatures glossy, dark green leaves and black berries.
It grows 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide.
Either way, they live long enough to make the labor of planting them well worth it.
Easy-to-grow privet can reach 8 to 20 feet and spread from 6 to 8 feet.
Pet Poison Helpline
Chinese Privet.
