Growing evergreen common privet in the open field is the most acceptable option for creating perennial garden landscape compositions. This article is all about varieties and varieties, proper fit, proper care, methods of reproduction of ligustrum. Magnificent photos of the shrub will help you get acquainted with the variety of varieties of this plant.
Common privet, its varieties and varieties
The Olive family includes an extensive range of evergreens. It also applies to evergreen shrub common privet (ligustrum).
In nature, culture grows in the southern regions of Russia and East Asia, on the Australian continent and North Africa, as well as in Australia, Japan, and China.
The shrub has small, hard, leathery, glossy leaves. Ligustrum blooms with panicles of white small flowers that have a pleasant aroma. After flowering, bluish-black fruits are tied, which can winter on the bushes.
privet fruits
In height, the bushes of common privet reach 3 meters, the width of the bush can be more than 1 meter.
There are three varieties of common privet:
- Deciduous - sheds leaves in a cold climate zone.
- Evergreen cultivars - hibernate with non-falling leaves.
- Mixed - leaves from the shrub fall partially.
The plant is widely used in landscape design for creating hedges, it has a rather slow growth. During flowering and fruiting, privet bushes acquire additional decorative effect.
Privet is great for creating hedges.
Landscape decorative forms (ball, cone) are easily formed from ligustrum, but the plant does not develop quickly, it takes considerable time to create an ideal compositional form. A photo of privet bushes formed in the form of a ball attracts attention - the plant looks very decorative.
The following are popular:
- "Aureum" - reaches a height of up to 1.5 m, leaf blades are green with a golden border. The ornamental coloration requires a sunny location to fully develop, growing this variety in the shade will cause the leaves to lose their yellow edging. The variety is quite winter-hardy, requires shelter only in very harsh winters.
- "Glaucum" - the variety does not grow above 1 m. The crown of the bush is spreading, the leaves are narrower than those of other varieties, have a bluish bloom and white edging.
Variety Glaucum
- 'Atrovirens' is distinguished by its considerable size and dark color of the leaves without spots and edging with other colors.
Variety Atrovirens
Planting privet according to all the rules
It should immediately be noted that privet is distinguished by its unpretentiousness. The culture grows well and develops even under adverse conditions: ligustrum is able to put up with a shady location, but does not tolerate acidic soil.
Advice! When preparing places for planting privet, a small amount of lime must be added to the soil.
The soil for planting shrubs should consist of humus and leafy soil, peat, coarse sand. It is necessary to immediately select a site for planting without excessive moisture, providing reliable drainage. Otherwise, the roots of the shrub will get wet, which will affect the overall development of the plant.
Planting privet bushes
In summer, ligustrum requires fairly frequent watering, but without excessive overflow. By autumn, the volume of irrigation water is dosed, and the frequency of irrigation is reduced.
Attention! Privet is easier to put up with underfilling than with overwatering.
Straight sunlight necessary for varieties of ligustrum with variegated leaves, so the area for planting the crop should be well lit. It is undesirable to plant shrubs under mature trees that have a formed dense and wide crown.
Separate pits are prepared for planting a bush, the depth of which depends on the development of the root system of seedlings, but should not be less than 50 cm.
When planting a shrub, it is necessary to provide for the laying of fertilizers of prolonged action on the bottom landing pit.
Common privet care
Privet needs simple care:
- timely watering;
- weed removal;
- shelter in cold winters;
- applying the necessary fertilizers.
Take care of shelter privet for the winter
The soil under the shrub requires mulching (to prevent drying out) and periodic loosening (to improve aeration). When mulching trunk circle not only will moisture be preserved in the soil, but the germination of weeds will also decrease. In addition, the mulch protects the roots of plants from overheating during the especially hot summer months.
In winter cold, some varieties of plants can freeze, so you should take care of sheltering the privet in advance. Sometimes it is enough to cover the bushes with snow, but in especially harsh winters, spruce branches are laid on top of the snow.
Privet in landscape composition
Separately, it is worth touching on the trimming of ligustrum bushes when forming three-dimensional forms. Although the culture does not grow very quickly, periodic pruning helps to form a spreading dense crown of the shrub. The first pruning of privet is cardinal - the branches of the shrub are shortened almost to the ground. The following pruning maintains the shape of the bush, they are carried out up to 3-4 times per season.
Advice! Ligustrum bushes should be pruned during the growing season, before the onset of autumn.
Ligustrum fertilizer
To reduce the acidity of the soil under the privet bushes, it is useful to add chalk, lime, dolomite flour. Soil deoxidation is carried out with the onset of autumn, embedding lime in the soil. At the same time, it is useful to apply potash and phosphate fertilizers, as well as organic matter.
The plant needs top dressing 2 times a year
In summer complex fertilizers make 2 times per season: foliar top dressing mineral fertilizers run over the leaves. Take a look at the photo - timely fertilized privet bushes look very decorative and give good growth.
Reproduction of ligustrum - ways and methods
Ornamental shrubs can be propagated by all known methods:
Diseases and pests of ligustrum
Ligustrum is resistant to diseases and pest invasions. The culture can occasionally be damaged by a scale or false scale. To prevent diseases, the crown of the shrub is more often sprayed with water in the summer months. A preventive shower will also save the plant from the attack of the spider mite.
Inspect the crop regularly for pests
The plant may suffer from fungal diseases developing from improper care. So with acidic soil, the leaves are covered with spots of pale green color. To prevent the development of fungal infections will allow compliance with all the rules for growing ligustrum. In case of lesions with fungal infections, the treatment of the bush with foundationazole will help to remove the infection.
In general, the common buryuchina is a very hardy plant that perfectly complements the landscape of gardens and parks.
Cutting privet bushes: video
Privet in landscape design: photo
The privet shrub is flowering plant the Biryuchinov family. It has about fifty species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small to medium-sized trees. The privet shrub is used for hedges in home gardens as an excellent landscape decoration. The natural habitat of the flower is Europe, North Africa, Asia and Australia. Privet was originally the name for the European evergreen shrub Privet vulgaris and later for the more reliable evergreen Privet ovalifolium, widely used for hedges of closely planted trees and shrubs. Now the name is applied to all members of the genus. For the first time, the generic name was applied by Pliny the Elder to Common Privet.
Description of privet and its photo
Some types of privet shrub can grow up to five meters in height and have a stem diameter of 2-2.5 centimeters. The bark of the plant is white with a hint of gray and has a smooth texture. Winter buds are ovoid with two outer scales. Apical buds are present. We invite you to read more detailed description privet shrub with his photo in various variations.
The leaves are elliptical, as opposed to buds, and are arranged on thin twigs, which, in truth, can sometimes be thick and leathery. Flowers can be either male or female with a white corolla. Calyx small, four-toothed. Each flower has petals that coalesce into a tube just below the four individual lobes. Look at the photo of the privet in various options its use: 
Privet bears flowers on small panicles along the line of the main axis and on short side branches. Flowering time - June-July. The fruit is a drupe containing one to four seeds. The fruit usually ripens in September or October and persists through the winter. A sexually mature privet can produce up to a hundred fruits. Most of them are eaten by birds. The plant is used as food for the larvae. 
privet care
Care for the buryuchina should begin with the selection right soil- in our case, it will be fertile, but with little salinity and good drainage. IN ready soil you can add some lime.
It is recommended to grow a flower in the open sun, but it will grow just as well in partial shade. Also, privet tolerates both drought and slight waterlogging (but only in small quantities). It endures winter frosts, but severe frosts and severe winter cold can destroy the bush. 
You will need less effort in the process of caring for privet if you loosen the ground in time and remove weeds at the place where the privet grows. By the way, you can reduce the number of weeds (and at the same time protect against overheating) with the help of mulching procedures - it is recommended to carry it out not earlier than spring, when the soil has already warmed up enough.
Without regular watering in the process of caring for privet, especially during the hot summer period, the earth begins to crack and the plant slowly fades. Therefore, we recommend that you do not forget about this procedure and constantly water and additionally moisten the privet shrub, especially in the summer and during the growing season. It is better to water the flower less often, but in large volumes - you need to moisten the soil surface by 50 centimeters. During growth and development, the amount of moisture is 30-40 liters, and the number of repetitions is 3 or 4. 
One of the methods of caring for privet shrubs is pruning, which is necessary for the plant to maintain its shape and prevent further dissemination. During the growing season, it is necessary to carry out this procedure at least once and as close to ground level as possible. Subsequent cuttings just help control the process of propagation and growth of the flower, but do not eradicate it. For the first three years, about 1/3 of the trunk needs to be removed - after that, you will only need to maintain the shape and size of the privet hedge.
Propagation and planting of privet
Most varieties of privet are propagated by cuttings and seeds. The plant grows very quickly and, as a rule, adds 60 centimeters per year.
Seeds for planting privet are extracted from fruits that ripen in late October. Basically, this method of propagation of privet is used for mass, industrial production. Seed germination is 60 percent, so they are used very, very rarely in private gardens and apartments. The bush matures within five to six years.
Cuttings for propagation of yuryuchina can be woody or summer. We advise you to use a more efficient option for planting privet, which guarantees almost 100% germination. The stalk should be picked up only after flowering - it should be a young and developed shoot. It must be removed under the internode. You can grow it in any way - there are a huge number of options on the Internet now. We offer you an old and proven method - place the shoots under a plastic bottle, cut off its neck and do not forget to make 10-115 small holes that will allow air to penetrate inside. Planting privet for rooting is under the shade big trees so that the plant is in partial shade - the light should only enter through the prism of the leaves of the tree. After a couple of months, the bottle can already be removed, and the newly grown bushes can be left until next spring.
Varieties of privet for hedges
In general, varieties are cultivated in culture that have high decorative properties and do not require special care during the growing process. As a rule, varieties of privet for hedges are selected taking into account their specifications, such as bush leafiness, trunk height and decorativeness throughout the growing season. We are offering to you brief descriptions some varieties of privet for hedges in your area. 
Common privet and her photo
Common privet is also sometimes referred to as wild privet, common privet, or European privet. The species is native to central and southern Europe, northern Africa and southwestern Asia, from Ireland and southwestern Sweden to southern Morocco, from eastern Poland to northwestern Iran. They are semi-evergreen or deciduous shrubs up to three meters in height. The stems are stiff, erect, with grey-brown mottled bark and small brown lenticels.
The leaves are arranged in cross-shaped pairs - shiny, oval in shape, up to 6 centimeters long and 1.5 centimeters wide. Look at the photo of an ordinary privet: 
Flowers appear in mid-summer in the form of panicles 3-6 cm long, and each flower is creamy white with a tubular base and a four-lobed corolla up to 6 mm in diameter. The flowers produce a strong, pungent fragrance that many find unpleasant. Fruits in the form of a small black glossy berry with a diameter of 6-8 mm with 1-4 seeds in each of them. The berries are very poisonous to humans, but are readily eaten by thrushes. that scatter seeds. 
Plants from a warmer habitat are more likely to remain evergreen. Sometimes they are even considered as a separate variety. In the British Isles, it is the only privet cultivar common for use in hedgerows and woodlands in southern England and Wales, especially in the chalk areas. Less common in Scotland, northern England and northern Ireland.
Privet oval-leaved
Oval privet is also known as California privet. This species is native to Korea and Japan, which is why it is often called the Japanese privet (but be confused with the Japanese privet). Often oval-leaved privet is used for tall hedges. 
It is a fast growing, dense deciduous shrub. It grows up to 3-4.5 meters in height and width.
Privet oval has thick, fleshy leaves that are green above and green-yellowish below. It blooms in mid-summer with profuse white flowers that produce a unique tart aroma that is unpleasant to some. The flower has four curly petals and two tall stamens with yellow and red dust particles, between which a low pistil appears. The petals and stamens fall off after fertilization of the flower, leaving the pistil in the calyx. Flowering begins after a year of cultivation.
All parts of the plant are poisonous to humans - be careful when caring for privet.
Japanese privet
Privet is used not only to create hedges, but also for the ancient Japanese art of bonsai. Of all the varieties of the plant, Japanese privet is the most suitable for this.
It is a large shrub or tree, which usually reaches four meters in height, but can also reach more significant sizes - six meters or more. Attractive evergreen leaves have an unusual pear shape with a sharp tip. They have six to eight veins. In spring, white flowers form panicle-shaped clusters up to 20 centimeters long. The plant produces a smell that not everyone will find pleasant. And a huge amount of pollen will just bother people. 
Flowers in the initial stage are green color, but in the process of maturation they change their color. They remain on the plant for most of the year. The older and larger tree, the more open its shape becomes and the more attractive the limbs look, creating a bonsai-style tree.
Several colorful varieties of Japanese privet can always be found in some large supermarket. For example, the variety Rotundifolium - dwarf plant, which grows very slowly and usually does not grow above one and a half meters. It has large, rounded leaves and is often used to create a low hedge. 
extremely tolerant of various types soil and is a strong, robust plant requiring special care (other than pruning to maintain desired shape and size).
Japanese privet will grow well in full sun or partial shade. When planting in the shade, air circulation must be ensured, otherwise you will have problems with whitefly and sooty mold. This problem can still be solved with soap spray. One of the most important mistakes is planting bushes at a close distance from each other - the space between them should be at least one and a half meters.
privet golden
Golden privet is a variation of Japanese privet or oval-leaved privet with bright golden leaves. Semi- evergreen has the brightest leaf colors of any species, especially in winter. Fast growing, they are most often used for urban garden hedging, but also make an excellent shrub. If well cut and shaped, privet can be a very inexpensive and picturesque addition to your garden.
Golden privet will grow well in almost any soil except damp. It is tolerant of winds and pollution, but the plant should be in a well-lit area. 
Glossy oval leaves up to 6 centimeters in length. The center is green, and the edges are a bright golden yellow hue. Grayish-brown bark with lenticels. Tiny tubular creamy white flowers form a panicle up to 10 centimeters long. Then clusters appear with black glossy berries, which are very poisonous to humans.
Privet shiny
Privet shiny is a kind flowering plant the olive family. It is originally from southern China, but has become native to different countries: Spain, Italy, Algeria, Canary Islands, New Zealand, Lesotho, South Africa, Japan, Korea, Australia, Norfolk Islands, Chiapas, Central America, Argentina and southern USA (California, Arizona, Maryland and Texas to North Carolina) .
The name shiny in this case refers to the glossy leaves. Brilliant privet for hedges is the most best option under any climatic conditions. Look at the photo shiny privet: 
It's small evergreen tree reaches 10 meters in height and width. The leaves are opposite, glossy, dark green in color, up to 17 centimeters long and up to 8 centimeters wide. The flowers are very similar to other types of privet, white or almost white.
Privet variegated
Privet variegated is a variety of Chinese privet. The flower has long and pointed leaves with golden margins. In autumn, creamy white flowers bloom in clusters and are a very functional addition to this extraordinary tree. 
Privet round-leaved
Privet round-leaved is an evergreen shrub with colorful leaves that retain their color even in winter. Creamy white flowers bloom in mid-summer and may produce honey. The plant takes root well on any soil, but absolutely does not tolerate frost, so it must be grown in a place that will be well protected and insulated. 
Privet "Sinense"
Privet "Sinense" is a small evergreen plant native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam (its second name is Chinese privet). A shrub with falling leaves reaches 7 meters in height and has dense hairy shoots. The leaves are opposite, up to seven centimeters long and three centimeters wide. 
Cultivated as an ornamental hedge plant. Often used as a bonsai. It is known that this variety occupies approximately one million hectares of land and is cultivated everywhere.
On my own personal plot you can grow a variety of plants, including quite rare and interesting ones. For the successful cultivation of certain ornamental plants you just need to have information about the basics of gardening and about some features of a particular culture. So it is considered a very interesting representative of the flora for placement on the site. It is a deciduous and densely branched shrub that can reach a height of up to five meters. Let's talk about how common privet is grown, planting and caring for this plant, what it is and whether it can be propagated by seeds.
Planting common privet
Privet is distinguished by shade tolerance, in addition, it is drought resistant and rather unpretentious in the choice of soil. It should not be placed only on acidic and dry sandy soil. In order for the shrub to reach maximum decorativeness, it is better to plant it in an open sunny area, at least seventy to one hundred centimeters from the buildings. The optimal composition of the soil will be a mixture of three parts of turf, two parts of humus and one part of sand.
It is best to plant privet in the spring, before the buds awaken. Before planting, it is worth digging up the soil to the depth of a shovel bayonet. Form a hole, approximately 70 * 70 cm in size, but it costs thirty centimeters to go deeper than the size of the root system of the plant.
Fill the prepared hole with water and wait until the soil absorbs it. Lay ten to twenty centimeters of rubble at the bottom of the pit, then pour a hill of soil mixture according to the above scheme. One hundred and thirty grams of nitroammophoska should be mixed into it. Place a privet seedling on a mound, straighten its roots with care. The hole should be filled with the same mixture of soil, but without the addition of fertilizer. For a month, make sure that the soil does not dry out. Next, mulch the area around the plant using peat. It must be folded in a layer of five to eight centimeters.
In order to get a hedge, plant seedlings at intervals of thirty to forty centimeters from each other.
What does common privet love, what is its care?
Such a shrub does not require special care. It only needs to be watered periodically, it is also necessary to loosen the soil from time to time, weed the plants and cut them off. Mulching will make it much easier for you to care for the privet, but it is advisable to do it after the soil has warmed up a little.
Watering should be carried out from time to time, only in drought. It should be rare, but plentiful. For the entire growing season, watering can be carried out three to four times, thirty to forty liters of water should be poured under one bush.
Top dressing of privet is carried out before the onset of heat using organic matter. Under each bush, it is worth adding humus or compost in the amount of one bucket. If you are engaged in the formation of a hedge, then you need to scatter organic matter along it, and superphosphate granules can also be distributed on top of it. Use ten grams of granules per meter. Shallow superphosphate in the upper part of the soil, then water the privet.
It is necessary to cut the shrub for the first time immediately after the seedlings get comfortable in the soil and start growing. At first, just shorten the tops of the shoots, so you activate the tillering. After the shoots grow ten to fifteen centimeters, repeat the pruning. Repeat this manipulation for two years, then proceed to the formation of the crown.
Formative pruning is carried out in May and August, and sanitary - in early spring. The latter is aimed at removing broken, dried, frozen and diseased branches. After carrying out sanitary pruning, it is advisable to lubricate the cut points with garden pitch.
Privet rarely suffers from diseases, but sometimes it is affected fungal diseases. For their prevention, it is worth spraying with the use of fungicidal preparations.
Common privet - propagation by seeds
In fact, growing privet from seeds is a rather laborious process. The germination of planting material in this case is approximately sixty-five percent, and the plants themselves begin to bear fruit only from the age of six.
If you still decide to grow privet from seeds, get them from ripe fruits. Dip the seeds in a container of water and wait a while. Some of them will float, and it is better to throw them away. Drowned seeds should be subjected to a stratification process: in October it is necessary to carry out their winter sowing in open ground. For the cold planting material will undergo natural stratification, but seedlings will appear only after a year. In the event that you postpone sowing until spring time, place the seeds inside boxes filled with a mixture of peat and sand and keep at zero temperature. The duration of such artificial stratification is five to six months.
At the time of germination, crops need to be systematically watered. To do this, it is advisable to use a watering can with a fine mesh.
By the end of the first year of cultivation, the seedlings should be dived with tap root pruning. Such plants will acquire a commercial appearance only at the age of two or three.
In order to grow privet of a certain variety or to simplify the propagation process, it is better to give preference to cuttings.
Privet is an excellent plant for planting in the backyard. It will not require special care from you, but will please the eye with attractive greenery.
The genus Privet (Ligustrum) includes several dozen species, mainly shrubs, growing in Asia, Africa and Europe.
Most types of culture can be found in the Himalayas, Japan and China. The bark of the culture has an astringent medicinal property, hence the name of the genus - "ligare", from the Latin verb "to bind". Interestingly, in English-speaking countries, the plant is known under the name Privet.
Good shade tolerance, low requirements for soil quality, tolerance to curly haircut and ease of care have made ornamental shrub Privet is one of the most versatile plants in landscape design.
Description of privet
The plant is a densely leafy, branched and very hardy shrub that is one of the most popular horticultural hedges.
The leaves are small, leathery, evergreen or deciduous. Height, depending on the species, is about 1.5-3 meters, but growth is perfectly controlled by pruning, which helps to form a variety of planting shapes. The height of dwarf varieties is only 60 -100 cm.
The flowers are white and fragrant, collected in loose paniculate inflorescences at the tops of the shoots, reminiscent of lilac flowers. Flowering is long, usually begins in early June. In warm climates, it may start earlier. After flowering, shiny black berries ripen, which usually remain on the bushes all winter.
The berries are poisonous to both dogs and humans, and the leaves can be even more toxic in large quantities. Their toxicity is due to the presence of terpenoid glycosides, which cause poisoning of the body.
Types of ornamental privet shrub
Common privet (Ligustrum vulgare). The most hardy deciduous species, which is most often found in the garden as a hedge. It is characterized by good winter hardiness and shade tolerance.
Through the efforts of breeders, decorative varieties were bred that differ in their crown shape: pyramidal shape, weeping, evergreen, as well as foliage color: privet aurea, gray-gray, variegated group with variegated foliage and yellow-fruited.
Brilliant privet (Ligustrum lucidum). This is a fairly small evergreen tree or shrub with glossy, ovate, variegated leaves, green with beige-yellow spots or a border. The flowers are small, creamy, fragrant, collected in inflorescences up to 20 cm in length. Blooms from July to early autumn. Withstands frosts down to minus 15 ̊С.
'Excelsum Superbum' is a low evergreen or semi-evergreen tree with small glossy green leaves edged with bright yellow.
Variety "Curly Wurly" - leaves unusual shape, as if twisted, painted in beige-green color.
Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum). In my own way appearance very similar to Ligustrum lucidum, but more winter hardy in cultivation. The leaves are small, evergreen, leathery, glossy.
The flowers have an unpleasant smell, but this is fully compensated by the high decorativeness of the species, which includes a group of round-leaved privet and a group with variegated foliage. For example, 'Sunshine' is a sterile variety with golden foliage or 'Jack Frost' is golden green leaves.
Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense). Semi-evergreen large shrub, reaching 3 meters in height. It has small yellow-green variegated leaves. adapts to different types soils. In horticulture, dwarf variegated varieties are popular, such as "Swift Creek" - a small spreading bush with creamy green leaves.
"Swift Creek" Oval-leaved privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium). A low and dense shrub with variegated, evergreen foliage. For the winter, it needs shelter due to its sensitivity to frost.
Depending on the color, it is divided into groups:
- variegated green-leaved group with a light, often white border along the edges of the leaf plate;
- silver group Argentum, the foliage of which is also bordered by a beige or light yellow stripe;
- the Aureum group or golden privet is one of the most sought after in landscape design. It is a dense, compact shrub about a meter tall with oval, lemon-yellow or lime-yellow leaves. Fabulous dwarf variety"Lemon and lime" with golden leaves that contrast with dark red or purple berries.
How to plant privet
Almost any place in the garden is suitable for planting privet, but in order for the shrub to reach the peak of its attractiveness, it is better to plant it in an open sunny place, especially variegated varieties and species. The culture grows well on many types of substrate with good water permeability, but plantings should not be expected to flourish on soils with a high acid reaction, heavy clay and sandy.
The best soil composition for growing is considered to be a mixture of three parts of soddy garden soil, two parts of humus and one part of coarse sand for permeability.
Planting of single shrubs is carried out in spring or autumn in September-October, and it is recommended to plant privet for hedges from late March to summer. Although bushes with a closed root system can be planted all season.
Fertilizer is applied immediately during planting of privet in the ground. Well suited for feeding 130 g of nitroammophoska or mix the earth from the planting pit with humus, compost or a small part of rotted manure.
The planting hole should be 30 cm larger than the root ball. Water is poured into it, and when it is absorbed, the roots of the plant are placed in the pit and covered with soil. At first, regular watering is necessary. Experts recommend mulching the soil around plantings with compost or peat. The mulch will provide extra nutrition throughout the season, keep the soil moist and control weed growth.
Learn more about the types of mulch and the benefits of mulching in this article.
Bushes intended to create a privet hedge are planted in one or two rows. The width of the dug trench is 60 cm, and its depth is 80 cm. If we want to have a single-row hedge, then we plant the bushes in a straight line with a distance of 50-60 cm between the bushes in partial shade. In a sunny place, we keep a distance of 80 cm.
In the case of a two-row privet hedge, two trenches are dug, located at a distance of about half a meter from each other. Planting of seedlings is carried out in a checkerboard pattern.
Privet care rules
Privet care throughout the season consists in the timely irrigation of the soil, annual pruning and weed removal. The plant can withstand prolonged droughts, so watering is carried out only in dry summers as needed.
The optimal irrigation regime is 3-4 times per season, but abundantly so that the earth is saturated with moisture to a depth of 40-50 cm, this is about 2-3 buckets per bush of medium height. Small plantings up to a meter are enough to be watered 10 liters at a time. Young shrubs require more frequent watering during drought, as their roots are not yet extensive enough.
Despite the shade tolerance, the shrub prefers sunny positions or light partial shade. With a lack of lighting, the foliage density decreases, and in variegated varieties, the brightness of the color fades.
In July, the ground around the plantations is carefully loosened after watering in order to increase the access of oxygen to the roots. After loosening, a layer of mulch is again poured.
Top dressing is carried out in the spring with organic fertilizers: compost or humus. The hedge is more demanding on top dressing, therefore, once in the spring and once in the summer, organic matter and granules of mineral multicomponent fertilizers are poured along the plantations, at the rate of 10 g per 1 meter. Then the plants are watered.
privet pruning
As mentioned above, caring for ornamental privet shrubs includes sanitary pruning and, if desired, shaping pruning.
The annual procedure stimulates tillering and promotes the formation of a compact bush with dense foliage. You can experiment with culture in creating topiary figures, since due to the intensive growth of the plant, you can quickly hide an unsuccessful haircut. The plant is ideal for creating.
To create a dense and dense crown of plantings or a hedge, the shoots of privet seedlings are cut off by 2/3 after planting. In summer, new young shoots are shortened by 10-20 cm. And so for 2-3 years. During this time, numerous lateral shoots intensively develop in the shrub. The larger the green mass, the more it will be easier to subsequently make the necessary haircut or create.
Old bushes can be rejuvenated by cutting all shoots to a height of 10-20 cm. A year before the planned rejuvenation, the plant requires regular watering and top dressing so that the bush gains strength before radical pruning. Sanitary pruning of all plantings is carried out annually in the spring. Remove dry, old, broken branches.
Privet breeding
Propagation methods for ornamental privet shrubs include: seed method, cuttings, young layering or root shoots.
Reproduction of privet seeds
Due to the low germination of seeds, this method is considered quite difficult, especially since the culture begins to bear fruit for the first time only at the age of 6. For germination, seeds need to be cold stratified, so they are sown in open ground under winter. For spring sowing, the seeds must be kept all winter in a box with a sand-peat mixture at a temperature of 0-1 ̊С. The refrigerator is best for storage.
The seed method is usually used in nurseries, and in private gardening, the simplest and most effective method of obtaining new seedlings is the vegetative method.
Propagation of privet cuttings
Woody cuttings 15-25 cm long are cut in the summer after the flowering of the bush. The lower leaves are cut off, and the sections are dipped in a powder that stimulates root formation. Deepen 5-7 cm into a mixture of peat and perlite.
After planting, it is well watered from a watering can and put the pot in a transparent bag or cover plastic bottle. Location - penumbra. Under conditions of constant humidity of the substrate and air, the rooting process takes 14-20 days.
When signs of growth appear, the cover is removed, and the cuttings are rearranged in a lighted place. The further development of the root system takes about a year. Therefore, the cuttings are brought into the house in the fall and grown indoors, transplanted as they grow into a larger pot in fertile soil.
It should be noted that in winter, seedlings need to be provided with cool conditions, and in spring, start feeding. By next summer we will have a full-fledged planting material.
Reproduction by layering and shoots
In the spring, the lateral shoot is cut closer to the base, tilted down with a cut and fixed in a previously dug groove 1-2 cm deep. At the cut point, the layering is sprinkled with compost and sphagnum moss is laid out, which should always be wet. When signs of rooting appear (the shoot will have new leaves), the layer is separated from mother plant. Some species form root shoots around the bush, which can be dug out with part of the root.
Diseases and pests
Excess moisture and poor air circulation can lead to the development of fungal diseases that appear as a gray or whitish coating on the surface of the leaves. In this case, plantings are processed fungicidal preparations. There is also a risk of attack by aphids, which can be eliminated by folk methods.
Foliage spotting is characterized by the appearance of brown spots. The disease is treated with Dithane NeoTec 75 WG or Topsin M 500 SC treatment.
