Is Ligustrum a tree or a shrub?
Ligustrum are lovely evergreen shrubs that are easy to grow and fast growing! Enjoy petite fragrant white flowers in late spring or summer. These shrubs are also known as privets. These tough plants are pest, deer, and disease resistant and pollution, heat, and drought tolerant. But ligustrum also tolerates pruning, so you can keep it at the size that best fits your situation. Planting Sunshine Ligustrum is pretty easy. Like most shrubs, this plant likes the soil to be consistently moist and well-drained.Heavy pruning to reduce the size or to tree form your Ligustrum should be performed in late winter, while the plant is dormant. Use a sharp pair of bypass hand pruners to selectively remove stray or damaged branches. Make your cut at a point along the branch just above the main form of the plant.Ligustrum is not a wimpy plant. But as it gets older it does become more susceptible to diseases. The loss of individual branches usually signals a root problem, especially when the dieback begins at the tips of the leaves and progresses inward.Ligustrum can be grown in full sun or part shade. A minimum of 4 to 5 hours of direct sunlight is recommended for best foliage density and flowering. Start by digging your planting hole at least two to three times as wide and no deeper than the rootball of your Ligustrum plant. The wider the hole the better.
How fast does a Ligustrum grow?
Sunshine Ligustrum is known for its moderate growth rate, typically gaining around 12 to 24 inches in height per year under optimal conditions. Description: Although often used as a shrub or hedge, Ligustrum works well when allowed to grow into a small tree. Its curved multiple trunks and dark green canopy create an interesting architectural focus, 8 to 12 feet tall and often considerably wider, for the landscape. Old specimens can grow to 25 feet across.Ligustrum shrubs are the perfect choice for home landscapes. These plants can thrive in various conditions, including full sun or partial shade, and they are deer resistant. Their versatility and undemanding nature make them an ideal choice, even for inexperienced gardeners.Low Maintenance and Long Living Your Sunshine Ligustrum will be with you up to 30 years. That’s pretty impressive for a plant that doesn’t require more than sunshine. It is drought tolerant, deer tolerant and requires no particular soil type or pH.
What are the cons of Ligustrum?
If you live in the north-east, then European privet (Ligustrum vulgare) also called common privet, is the main bad-guy. This is a plant that will grow rapidly and crowd out your garden, as well as producing some dull flowers that never the less seed profusely, and have already spread into many north-eastern forests. Ligustrum vulgare, called common privet, European privet or wild privet, is a fast-growing, deciduous (semi-evergreen in mild winter climates) shrub that typically grows 10-15′ tall and as wide.Ligustrum do not require pruning, however respond well to it for shaping purposes or to form shaped hedges or very attractive small trees. Light pruning of Ligustrum to remove a stray or damaged branch can be performed any time of year.Ligustrum shrubs do not need to be pruned, but they can withstand severe pruning with no ill effects. So if you want to control the height of a privet hedge feel free to trim those babies as much as you like. Simply trim up your bushes to the shape you like with one exception.