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Mathias nurseries Privet hedging

Privet Hedging

Privet hedging is a very traditional English form of hedging. It grows relatively quickly and is tolerant of most soil types and clips easily to form a neat, dense and tidy hedge. It is shade tolerant but also grows well in full sunshine. Privet is semi-evergreen meaning that it generally retains its leaves all winter except in periods of prolonged cold when it can lose them. During the colder months of the year we tend to supply larger sizes of root balled privet and all year round we supply container grown privet hedge plants. Scroll down for more information on the Privet hedge plants we have available and further information about Privet hedges.

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Privet hedging is a very versatile form of hedging useful in many situations.

Why should I plant a Privet hedge?

Privet (Ligustrum Ovalifolium) is a highly popular hedging plant being semi-evergreen with green oval shaped leaves.  Privet produces white highly scented flowers in the spring.  It clips well to produce a neat dense hedge which is relatively fast growing and tolerant of many positions.  Being semi-evergreen, Privet will retain its leaves all winter except during prolonged periods of cold when it can lose its leaves.

How tall will Privet grow?

A single Privet if left untrimmed can be grown to a large size but it responds well to clipping and can be used to make a hedge of any height from 3-10ft in height so will more than adequately produce a hedge to give eye level privacy or grown as a small hedge as an internal garden boundary. 

How quickly will a Privet hedge grow? 

Privet are are relatively quick growing and can put on up to 1ft (30cm) of growth each year.  Once the hedge has reached its desired height it should be trimmed at that height accordingly to maintain its size and increase its density.  This will slow down the upward growth of your hedge and encourage growth sideways to make a denser hedge. 

When should I clip or trim a Privet hedge?

A Privet hedge will need to be clipped annually in the spring or autumn as you would with any other hedge.

How far apart should I plant a Privet hedge?

Privet should be planted 1.5ft (45cm) apart regardless of how tall or short they are when you buy them and careful preparation of the planting site is important.  See section below on how to look after your Privet hedge after planting.

How do I look after my Privet hedge after planting?

Although Privet plants are tolerant and will put up with most soil types, we recommended that the planting soil is mixed with compost to give the plants the best environment to grow in for their first year.  After planting, your Privet hedge should be watered regularly during its first year to give it the best chance of survival and this is especially important if your hedge is being planted in the drier summer months.

How do I water my Privet hedge?

Watering a Privet hedge is especially important if you are planting during the summer or a dry period.  For watering, we recommend using leaky hose (sometimes described as porous pipe) which can be connected to your existing hose pipe and will slowly leak water onto the roots of your hedge in a controlled manner to ensure that it soaks in and your hedge becomes properly watered.  Leaky hose is cheap, easy to install and very effective.  See our Accessories page for more details on leaky hose.

Is Privet tolerant of different soil types?

Privet will tolerate almost all soil types (except very waterlogged soils) making it very versatile.

Does Privet like full sun or shade?

Privet will grow well in full sunshine and is also shade tolerant making it very versatile to different situations.

We usually stock a selection of different sizes of Privet throughout the year.  In the colder months of the year (beginning in the autumn) we supply a range of different sizes of bare root and root balled Privet which can be a more cost effective way of planting a large Privet hedge if budgeting is important. 

For more information on our availability of Privet hedging or if you have any questions or queries about existing Privet hedges or need advice about planting a new Privet hedge, please call us on 01252 714552 or email sales@hedgesonline.com