Saturday, August 18, 2012

Waxyleaf Privet




Waxyleaf Privet
Ligustrum quihoui
(lig-GUS-trum)

In a true case of life imitating art this picture showed up in my desktop slideshow last night the same day of our tri-annual pruning of the Privet Hedge. The hedge lives in White Plains, New York and is about 150 feet long. We have been managing it for four years now. When we took it over it was in poor condition and I got the brilliant idea (at the time) of feeding it with some Scott’s Super TurfBuilder. Ever since then it has grown expeditiously. What really needs to be done is a heavy dormant pruning of a couple of feet off the top and some thinning and it is very easy to remember that now. The hedge is on a steady slope and is 4 feet tall (after yesterday) at the start ranging all the way up to 8 feet tall at the other end.

Ligustrum quihoui is considered very invasive in certain areas of the country (like Texas) but is more like an accidental in this area. It is rarely seen and doesn’t seem to present that problem. The Common Privet (Ligustrum vulgare) can be a beautiful and rewarding shrub if left to develop its large and gracefully arching frame. The late fragrant flowers are nice and a great addition to the summer garden. The flowers on the Waxyleaf Privet are much larger (3 or 4 times) than the Common types. They are much showier and somewhat stronger smelling. Overall Waxyleaf Privet seems to present a superior esthetic in the landscape.

1 comment:

Roan said...

Hmm, turfbuilder. I have a hedge that might benefit from some. Beautiful photograph!

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