Yellowing and Pruning, Privet Hedge 4 feet tall

13 years ago

Hello: My privet hedge is 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide. I'd like it to get to 10 feet tall. 2 issues:

1) Yellowing: how do I differentiate between needing more iron and pests, etc?

2) I want a thick, solid, privacy hedge to grow 10 feet tall. How often should I prune it and what method?

I'm in Sonoma County, Zone 14/15 (i think). I'm really grateful to you who are seasoned privet lovers!

Thanks!

Featured Answer

wanda

13 years ago

Yellowing may also be a sign of too much watering or possibly not enough. How long have they been planted and how often and how are you watering them?

They are messy and prolifically self sowing here. I took my last one out and replaced it with a native Toyon.

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Comments (6)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
13 years ago
There are at least a dozen Ligustrums with the common name of Privet, do you know which one you have? Some only grow to 4 or 5 feet while others can reach 35 feet. The most common cause of yellowing foliage would be lack of nitrogen. Al
hosenemesis
13 years ago
I thought privets were impervious to pests and diseases.

When the leaves get really old on my texas privets, they yellow and fall off. If there is yellowish veining in the new leaves, it may be a nutritional deficiency of some sort, but if the interior leaves are bright yellow, they are just old and will drop.

Shear your privet if you want a narrow thick hedge. Make sure you shear the top as well so that the naturally long arching branches send out new little branchlets. Just shear it a bit higher each season.

I am growing privets for privacy now, and once I get them dense and tall I will stop shearing and let them go wild. I like them best when they are allowed to grow into their natural shape. Fortunately, we do not have a problem with them reseeding in our dry climate.

Renee
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Oh no!!! I thought I was the ONLY one! I looked everywhere for answers. Not only were mine bare and a little green at the top, it was leggy looking. After much investaigating, I came up with why I think ours needed help. It wasn't being pruned right. Apparently, privets like to be more of an A shape, NOT a square shape. This, from what I read allows more light to get to the bottom. Along from not pruning correctly, it was rather dry. So, I ran soaker hoses under them. That way I can leave them there and water as needed. They don't like to be fed from overhead. Who knew? I'm watering an hour in the morning every 3rd or 4th day, but I started with an all night soak right after I pruned them. I know you're not suppose to water at night, but at that point I figured what the heck! Hmm...Oh, and, this is the back breaker. Privets like to be clean up underneath. That means, getting on all fours and checking each stem. If it breaks, it's dead. Remove it, so pests don't take up residence. In fact, clean up all dead leaves and brances too. That way fresh air can circulate well under them. And a little fresh mulch will keep the roots cool. I pruned off the top third of our long, long privet row. It was the hardest thing. The pitiful thing looked completely dead. That was two weeks ago and you know what... it's starting to produce lil' buds. I've read that the best time to prune is after the worst of winter, but before spring. Privet's can take a hard pruning then, even back to 6 - 12" from the ground! I don't know if I could do that, but if you had to... Anyway, the best of luck to you and your privets!
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Water them regularly and be patient. The less you prune, the more energy they will have to grow.

Yellowing and Pruning, Privet Hedge 4 feet tall

wanda

Comments (6)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9

hosenemesis

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