Common privet (Ligustrum vulgare) - is an ideal hedge that can be given any, even the most unusual shape. Decorative deciduous, densely branched shrub, reaches up to 5 m in height and a bush diameter of up to 5 m, annual growth is up to 40 cm in height and 30 cm in width. Privet is one of the best shrubs for hedges, forest edges, undergrowth in a group of trees with a transparent crown.
Privet propagates by cuttings, layering, root suckers, grafting and seeds.
For commercial production of seedlings, propagation by seeds and cuttings is most often used.
For industrial mass breeding of planting material (not varietal), seeds are used. The fruits ripen in mid-October, each of them contains 1-4 seeds (bushes begin to bear fruit from the age of 6). Good-quality seeds are selected from ripe fruits, washed from the pulp and soaked in water. In this case, defective seeds float to the surface, which are removed, leaving only viable ones.
To speed up germination and increase seed viability, a stratification technique is used. When sowing in the fall "before winter", privet seeds, being under the snow in winter, undergo natural stratification and therefore germinate better. If sowing these plants is postponed until spring, then they need cold stratification for 6 months. The seeds are mixed with clean sand and peat, moistened and placed in pots or boxes in a layer of 30-40 cm. There they are kept until spring at a temperature close to 0 ° C.
Sowing seeds in open ground is used to obtain a large number of seedlings.
If a small batch of seedlings is needed, the seeds are sown in boxes located in film or glass greenhouses with artificial heating, or indoors as a last resort. The seed boxes are filled with light fertile soil consisting of equal parts of humus, peat and river sand. The top layer of the substrate is covered with a 1 cm layer of sand. Before sowing, the seeds are soaked in water.
During the germination period, the boxes with crops are regularly watered using a watering can with a fine mesh, and make sure that the seeds are always sprinkled with soil substrate. Watering is carried out carefully so that a strong stream does not wash away the seeds located on the surface. If this happens, the seeds need to be deepened into the soil again. Seedlings with developed leaves are carefully picked into open ground at the end of the season or next spring.
Growing privet from seeds
Sowing is carried out either in mid-October or early May. Shoots appear in June, and only a year later (at the age of two) the seedlings are ready for sale. And one-year-old seedlings of saplings are grown by planting in containers (plastic containers with a volume of 0.3-0.5 l). The containers are filled with fertile substrate prepared from a mixture of humus, leaf soil and river sand in equal parts. At the age of 2-3 years, when the seedlings reach a height of 40-60 cm, you can begin to sell them.
Growing privet by cuttings
To obtain varietal planting material, another method of propagation is used - cuttings. Privet is very easy to propagate by summer cuttings taken at the end of flowering, and gives 85-100% rooting. It is also propagated by woody (winter) cuttings, but the rooting result will be much worse.
Only large, well-developed mature shoots are cut for cuttings, which break with a crunch when bent. The length of the cuttings is 8-12 cm, with a diameter of 0.7-1 cm. If the cuttings are more mature, they can be treated with a 0.01% solution of IMC (indolebutyric acid).
Cuttings are cut from the end of June and throughout July. Roots appear within 1-2 weeks, and after 2-3 months a powerful root system develops. Rooted cuttings are grown further, the plants are ready for sale only at the age of 2-3 years. The cuttings are planted in greenhouses under glass in well-washed coarse sand, poured in a layer of 3-5 cm on the main substrate of a turf mixture with sand, to a depth of 5 cm, at an angle of 45º. During the rooting period, a temperature of 20...25°C and an increased level of humidity are maintained.
Care of privet
It is better to water the bushes less often, but more abundantly, wetting the soil horizon by 50 cm. The approximate watering rate for adult bushes is 30-40 l / m², frequency - 4-6 times during the growing season. Young privet plants especially need watering, as well as plants of any age - in hot periods of summer. On sandy and clayey structureless soils that crack when there is a lack of moisture, many plants develop poorly without watering.
Privet is fed in the spring, sand and lime are added under the bush, as well as mineral fertilizers: nitrogen and phosphorus - 10-15 g / m², potassium - 15 g / m² once every 2-3 years, in the fall, because they contribute to better overwintering of plants. Fertilizers are added to the soil not only before planting, but also during their intensive growth as a top dressing. Organic fertilizers ensure the development of bacteria and increase soil fertility, mineral fertilizers replenish the nutrients necessary for the shrub.
If the soil acidity is high, dark green or grayish spots may appear on the privet leaves. Due to the fact that privet reacts poorly to increased soil acidity, periodic liming is necessary, which is carried out in the fall, scattering a thin layer of slaked lime, ground limestone, chalk or dolomite flour. To reduce soil acidity, add 250–300 g/m² of lime to light sandy loam soils, 300–440 g/m² to medium-heavy podzolic soils, and 500–600 g/m² to heavy humus, loamy, and clayey soils.
Mulching the soil helps protect it and plant roots from overheating, and also reduces weed growth. The best time for mulching is late spring, when the soil is still moderately moist, but already warmed up enough. Timely and proper care is greatly facilitated by weeding and loosening the soil. The soil under the bushes is regularly loosened throughout the season for better aeration, starting immediately after the snow melts.
Systematic sanitary pruning is also necessary, which is usually done in the spring, but it can also be done at other times. At the same time, frozen, dried, broken and damaged shoots are periodically removed, and the cut sites are lubricated with garden pitch. Privet responds very well to pruning, growing back without compromising its decorative qualities. After pruning, it forms a dense, densely branched crown, which is especially valuable for creating a shaped hedge.
