Growing the Vicary Golden Privet

Size and Appearance

The Vicary Golden Privet is a medium sized shrub that will grow rapidly – over 12 inches a year – into a rounded or vase-shaped bush up to 12 feet tall and 10 feet wide. With trimming it can be kept much smaller. It is evergreen in warm zones, and semi-evergreen in cooler ones, where the leaves will also take on bronze to purple tones in colder weather, with a variable quantity of the foliage falling over the winter months. Older untrimmed plants will develop thicker stems, leafless bases and a vase-shaped form, but clipped plants remain full and leafy to the ground. The leaves are slightly leathery, oval, up to 3 inches long, with a smooth, glossy surface. New leaves are a clear, pure, golden yellow over the entire surface. Older leaves become more greenish, approaching a yellow-chartreuse tone, especially in shadier places.

In late spring 4-inch long clusters of white flowers develop, especially on unclipped plants, and these are fragrant, attracting insects and butterflies. The flowers develop into black berries which will be eaten by birds over the winter months. These have a potential to spread, usually producing plants with green leaves.

Using the Vicary Golden Privet in Your Garden

There are two distinct ways of using this bush in your garden. You can grow it completely untrimmed, or perhaps with a trim every few years, into a vase-shaped shrub or small multi-stem tree which makes an eye-catching specimen at the back of beds, in corners against walls and fences, or out on a lawn. Or, grow it with regular trimming into hedges and clipped shapes. For hedges 3 or 4 feet tall, space plants 2 to 3 feet apart. For taller hedges over 5 feet, space plants 3 to 4 feet apart. Whatever spacing you choose, arrange the plants so they are evenly spaced. Individual plants can be clipped into cones, columns, boxes and other shapes, making colorful topiary to decorate your garden.

Hardiness

The Vicary Golden Privet is hardy from zone 5 to zone 9. At the lower end it will be semi-evergreen to deciduous, and at the warmer end it will be reliably evergreen, and keep its gold coloring all winter.

Sun Exposure and Soil Conditions

Full sun is best for the Vicary Golden Privet. It will grow in partial shade, but the foliage will be greener and less effective. It grows in just about any kind of soil – a great asset in urban gardens and on difficult land such as heavy clay or shallow soil over rock. It will grow best in average garden soil that is reasonably drained, and although moderately drought resistant when established the growth will be most vigorous in moist soils.

Maintenance and Pruning

Pests and diseases are rare in the Vicary Golden Privet, and deer normally won’t bother with it. Left to grow naturally it is very low-maintenance, and a bit of mulch occasionally is all it needs, and some water during extended dry periods. It can be trimmed regularly, any time from just before the new growth begins in spring up until early fall. New growth in fall is more likely to drop its leaves in winter, so for a full plant, trim mainly earlier in the year. A trim before the new growth emerges, and again in early summer, after flowering, should keep it neat for all but the most fastidious of gardeners. Regular trimming will reduce or eliminate flowers, or if you trim annually after flowering you will still enjoy some blooms, but avoid any seeds being produced. Should you see any green stems developing, cut them off from the point they are sprouting from.

History and Origin of the Vicary Golden Privet

Henry Beckett was the head gardener to Henry Huck Gibbs and his son Vicary, rich businessmen and keen gardeners. Between 1882 and 1932, Beckett, Vicary and his father turned Aldenham House, north of London, England, into a botanical collection rivalling Kew Gardens. To create the plant called Ligustrum x vicaryi, Beckett crossed together the golden privet, Ligustrum ovalifolium ‘Aureum’, with the common European privet, Ligustrum vulgare, around 1920. Golden privet is a form of the Californian privet (which actually comes from Japan and South Korea) that has green leaves with a broad golden-yellow border. Among the seedlings that Beckett grew was one with solid gold leaves, and that hybrid plant was named after Vicary Gibbs.

Buying the Vicary Golden Privet at the Tree Center

Golden accents can really bring your garden to life, and the Vicary Golden Privet is the ‘goldenest’ of them all. This great shrub is easy to grow almost anywhere, and always in high demand. So order now, because we will be sold out very soon.

Imagine a ribbon of gold winding along the pathway to your home, or borders edged in low golden hedges. How about a wall of gold separating one part of your garden from another, or marking the boundary? These effects are easy to achieve with the Sunshine Privet. Just plant them, water when young, and clip from time to time. It’s that easy. Place plants among the shrubs in the foundation planting around your home. Leave them natural, or clip them into cones, balls or columns, depending on the style of your planting. This versatile shrub is so useful you won’t be able to get enough of it.

Growing Sunshine Privet Shrubs

The Sunshine Privet is a small evergreen shrub, with glossy leaves about 1 inch long, that are a uniform golden yellow all year round. Not blotchy, not turning dull green in summer, just golden beauty all the time. Now you may have some reservations about privet plants, because some have got a bad name for creating allergies, or for spreading into natural areas. Forget all that with the Sunshine Privet. It never flowers, so no allergies and no seeds. You won’t be sneezing in spring from this plant, and you won’t see it invading surrounding areas either. Be completely confident, this is not an invasive or ‘problem’ privet bush.

Planting and Initial Care

Grow the Sunshine Privet in full sun for the richest golden coloring. It will also grow well in shade, but there the foliage will be an attractive lime-green, rather than bright gold. Lime-green is also a fashionable garden color, so if you have some shade, just go with it, and enjoy the more muted tones. This tough and reliable plant will grow in almost any kind of soil, from sand to clay, doing well in exactly those heavy soils that many other plants don’t enjoy too much. Just avoid spots where the soil is always saturated with water. Water new plants regularly, about once a week during summer, to develop strong, deep roots. These are your future insurance against drought, giving you tough, vigorous plants able to easily handle adverse conditions of heat and drought.

Uses in Your Garden

The Sunshine Privet can be used in many ways around the garden. Plant unclipped bushes among flowering shrubs in large beds, for all-year brightness and interest. They will grow no more than 6 feet tall, and 3 or 4 feet wide, so they won’t take over, and they will leave lots of space for other shrubs. Use it for a hedge between 3 and 6 feet tall, by planting 2½ to 3 feet apart, and clipping once or twice a year. If you see any plain-green branches sprouting, trace them to their source and cut them cleanly out, or the more vigorous green plant will take over.

History and Origins of the Sunshine Privet

The Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense), is a shrub native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, but today it grows in many countries, including the southern United States. The golden form is a much ‘tamer’, and so much more attractive, without flowers or berries, yet it is still a vigorous grower, trouble-free and pest and disease free too.

The Sunshine Privet must be grown from stem pieces taken from mature plants, so that every plant grown is a perfect copy. Seedling plants will not be gold, but green, vigorous and problems, so never plant cheap seedlings – stick to the best. Our limited stock is being snapped up by gardeners building golden walls around their homes, so order now, while we still have the plants to satisfy your needs.

If right now you are thinking, “Privet? I thought there were problems with that plant getting really big and invading natural areas. . .” then you can put those concerns to rest. Yes, there are ‘bad’ privet bushes, but the Jack Frost Privet is not one of them. It grows no more than 10 feet tall and 8 feet wide, and often less. It can have attractive clusters of white flowers in the spring, sometimes followed by a few black berries, but these are not of interest to birds, and they don’t spread around. Bushes that are trimmed a couple of times a year usually don’t flower at all, but simply remain lush and thick, and bring beauty, not problems. In fact, the Jack Frost Privet, which is a type of Japanese privet, comes highly recommended by every gardening expert, so you can relax, and use this great plant freely in your garden.

Growing Jack Frost Privet Shrubs

The Jack Frost Privet is a fast-growing evergreen shrub, with glossy oval leaves that are light-green, with an irregular ivory margin around them. The leaves are between 1½ and 2 inches long, and about 1 inch wide. Look closely and you will see several shades of green on each leaf, in irregular patterns, and that broad margin of ivory will be different on every leaf too. This makes the plant much more visually interesting and adds to its beauty. The overall effect is of sparking green and white, catching the light and reflecting brightness around the garden. Although bright, it is neutral, so it looks wonderful with any other flowering plants, or all shrubs with colored foliage.

Uses on Your Property

The Jack Frost Privet is just the right size to make screens or hedges, or to grow with other taller shrubs in the background of your garden. It can be clipped just as much as you want, and made into all sorts of topiary shapes, from cubes to cones and spirals, of almost any size. Trimming a couple of times a year keeps it very dense, with many branches covered in leaves, so you have a solid hedge in very little time. You don’t have to worry if you only clip once a year, because although this plant grows rapidly, it is well-behaved, adding only 6 to 10 inches a year, not the 2 or 3 feet some plants grow, meaning they need lots and lots of clipping. For a hedge, plant in a row, spacing the plants evenly between 2½ or 3 feet apart for a shorter hedge, up to 4 or 5 feet tall, and 4 feet apart for a taller hedge.

Planting and Initial Care

The really good news about the Jack Frost Privet is how easy it is to grow. It will grow the quickest, and be very dense, in full sun, but it will also thrive in light shade, or spots with sun for just part of the day. It will grow in almost any kind of soil, including heavier clay soils, just so long as they are not always soaking wet. It even tolerates salt-drift, so plant it in coastal areas too.

For the first season or two, water regularly, to develop a strong, extensive root system. This means watering deeply, and over a wide area, not just putting a little water right where the roots are. Do this once a week during the first summer, and every week or two in the second season. After that your plants will be so well established that only major drought will bother them. Of course, if you do water regularly, and use a fertilizer for evergreen shrubs, then you will get the fastest and lushest growth possible, but it certainly isn’t essential. This plant is normally pest and disease free, and it needs almost nothing from you to thrive – even clipping is optional. It is also almost never touched by deer.

History and Origins of the Jack Frost Privet

Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum) is native to southern and central Japan, as well as Korea. The evergreen leaves are a rich, glossy, dark-green, and much larger – up to 4 inches long – than in the variety called ‘Jack Frost’. The small, white flowers grow in cone-shaped clusters up to 8 inches long and 8 inches wide at their base. They are sweetly-scented and attract insects, but the Jack Frost Privet has very few flowers compared to the wild forms. After the petals drop the flowers may turn into clusters of small, purple-black berries, which stay on the tree all winter. We know that different varieties of this plant were grown in Japan for centuries, and brought to America and Europe in the 19th century, but we don’t know much about the variety ‘Jack Frost’, except that it is one of the best variegated shrubs available.

The demand for easy background plants, that also brighten the garden, is enormous. We know that these plants will not be with us long, so take the opportunity to simplify your gardening, and beautify it at the same time – order now.

Waxleaf Privets can be pruned up by removing lower branches and turned into a miniature tree for a small garden, or to plant above low plants in your garden beds. It can also be grown in large tubs, planters and other containers, where it makes a wonderful show when in flower, and an attractive rich-green shrub the rest of the time. A specimen pruned into a tree is beautiful in a large container, with smaller flowering plants beneath it.

Growing Waxleaf Privets

The Waxleaf Privet is an improved form of the Japanese privet, a type of privet that remains smaller, and does not spread through seeds as other less-desirable kinds do. It has smooth, oval leaves that are 2 to 4 inches long and up to 2 inches wide. They have a rich, glossy surface and are a very dark green color, making the perfect background plant. The dark leaves really show off the pure white flowers that come in spring.

Each individual flower is small, about ¼ of an inch across, but hundreds of flowers are gathered together in large cone-shaped clusters that are 8 inches long and the same width at the base. Even young plants are covered in blooms, making a wonderful show in spring to welcome the return of warmer weather. The flowers are followed by clusters of small purple-black berries that persist through the winter. They are not eaten by birds, so the plant will not spread as a weed in your garden or into the surrounding area.

Planting Location

The Waxleaf Privet will grow in almost any location. It thrives in shade as well as sun, so it is ideal for filling those shady corners of the garden where other plants won’t grow. It will grow in all kinds of soil, from sand to clay. The only place it will not grow well is in soil that is constantly wet and flooded.

Hardiness

Once established it is very resistant to drought, as well as to intense heat. It is hardy to zero degrees Fahrenheit, and even if the temperature briefly falls lower in a cold snap, some leaves may fall, but otherwise it will be fine. It has no significant pests or diseases and this is a very easy plant to grow successfully, even in poor locations.

Using as a Hedge

To plant the Waxleaf Privet as a hedge, space the plants 2 feet apart in a row. Begin clipping as soon as new growth is seen, so that a dense structure is created for your hedge. Always slope the sides inwards, so that light reaches the lowest parts, otherwise those sections may become twiggy and bare, instead of staying green and lush right to the ground.

History and Origins of the Waxleaf Privet

Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum) grows wild in southern and central Japan, as well as in Korea. It has evergreen leaves of a rich dark-green, with an attractive glossy upper surface. They are oval and 3 or 4 inches long. The small, pure white flowers are bunched together in cone-shaped clusters that are up to 8 inches long and the same across at the base. They make a beautiful garden show in spring, when the plant is covered in these sweetly-scented blooms. After the petals drop the flowers develop into clusters of small, oval purple-black berries, which decorate the tree all winter.

The Wavy Leaf Privet grows rapidly to around 8 feet tall – the perfect size for a background planting, a hedge or a screen. It naturally grows dense and full without a lot of trimming, making a great specimen for planting in a lawn, or even in a large pot as a container plant. Visually the leaves are curved at the tip, with slightly wavy edges, creating a lively effect that adds to the charm and beauty of this plant. It has clusters of white flowers in spring that add interest and color, making this an all-round ideal garden plant.

Privet has a poor reputation with some people. This comes from the ‘bad manners’ of the European and Chinese privets, which grow very large and produce lots of seeds. These sprout as weeds in the garden, and they also escape into the wild, causing environmental problems, especially in the southern states. In response, gardeners have shifted to using other species, which are much more modest in size and any berries are not eaten by birds. The Japanese Privet is one of these ‘well-mannered’ garden privets. It stays relatively small and birds show no interest in eating the seeds, so it does not become a weed and it will not spread into wild areas around you. Growing this plant is safe and responsible, and you do not need to worry about introducing a pest into your garden or your neighborhood.

Growing Wavy Leaf Privet Shrubs

The Wavy Leaf Privet is a versatile evergreen shrub, that can add 2 feet of growth a year when young, making it the ideal choice is you want a hedge in a hurry. Yet it doesn’t grow more than 8 feet tall, so it won’t crowd out your garden. It is perfect for filling a blank corner, and attractive enough, especially when in flower, to use as a container plant in a large tub on your terrace, or beside your entrance. The pure-white flowers are carried in sprays, and develop in early spring. They are followed by clusters of berries, but after flowering is an ideal time to give your plants a trim to keep them compact and dense. This will remove the dead flower clusters, so berries will not form. These are ignored by birds anyway, but they are not very showy, so there is no harm in removing them.

Planting Location

Choose a sunny or shady location for your Wavy Leaf Privet. It will grow better in some shade, especially in hot areas, so save those sunny places for plant that grow best in sun, like Crape Myrtles. It will grow in any kind of soil, no matter how poor it is, except for soils that are constantly wet. Not only will it grow in any soil, once established it is drought resistant, unaffected by heatwaves or cold spells, and it has no serious pests or diseases. It grows well in coastal areas too, as it is resistant to salt spray, and grows well in sandy soil. This is a very, very easy plant to grow, and anyone can grow it.

Using as a Hedge

To make a hedge from the Wavy Leaf Privet, place your plants 2 to 3 feet apart in a row. They will rapidly grow together, and you should begin clipping while they are still small, to develop a dense structure. Always clip the sides flat and sloping inwards a little. This will allow light to reach the bottom of the hedge, and keep the foliage healthy and thick right to the ground. If you allow the top to grow wide, as it naturally will, the lower parts will soon become bare and twiggy.

More Information on Wavy Leaf Privets

The Japanese Privet (Ligustrum japonicum) is found growing wild in southern and central Japan, as well as in Korea. It has evergreen leaves of a rich dark-green, with an attractive glossy upper surface. They are oval and 3 or 4 inches long. The flowers are small, but bunched together in cone-shaped clusters that are up to 8 inches long and as much across. They are pure white and make a very attractive show in spring, when the plant is covered in these sweetly-scented blooms. If not trimmed the flowers develop into clusters of small, oval purple-black berries, which decorate the tree all winter.

The special form ‘Recurvifolium’, called the Wavy Leaf Privet, has a pronounced curve in the tip of the leaf, as well as a wavy edge. This feature gives the whole plant interesting visual movement and grace, making it the most desirable variety to grow in your garden. It is also more compact and fuller than the wild plant, so it is more suited for garden use. Cheaper seedling trees will not be this attractive variety and will instead be more like the less-attractive wild form, so avoid them and grow only the best plants from The Tree Center. Many gardeners are now realizing the value of these improved privet bushes, and we know that our stocks will not last long!

California Privet can be maintained as a medium-sized or tall hedge, allowed to grow as an attractive background plant, or used to fill those places in the garden where most other plants will not grow. After a little care becoming established, this plant is free of pests and diseases, very drought resistant, trimmed with no trouble, and always attractive. If it becomes too tall, just cut it back as much as you need. Thick bare branches will begin to re-sprout almost immediately and your trees will come back thicker and sturdier than ever.

No one really knows why this plant, Ligustrum ovalifolium, is called California Privet, because it grows naturally in Japan and South Korea. Perhaps it was introduced to North America by being brought across the Pacific to California, but we really don’t know. Whatever the reason, this is the name it is known by all across the country, and it has an excellent reputation for all those situations where you need a tough, reliable plant.

Growing California Privets

California Privet will grow to 10 or 15 feet tall if left un-pruned, with an upright habit, drooping a little at the ends of the branches, especially when they are full of fruit. It is a fast-growing tree, adding 3 to 5 feet in a season. Although upright, it has a rounded habit, and can be as wide as it is tall. The leaves are around 2 inches long and 1 inch wide, oval in shape, with a smooth, slightly glossy upper surface in a rich green color. California Privet is evergreen in most areas, but some leaves may drop during cold spells.

The bark on the California Privet is smooth, reddish when young and soft grey when older. This plant blooms in summer and the white flowers are carried in bunches about 4 inches long on the ends of the stems. They have a soft, honey fragrance and a tree in flower is very attractive. Butterflies love to visit the flowers and drink the sweet nectar. The flowers are followed by clusters of pea-sized berries, which begin green and become black when they ripen in early winter. These are not edible to us, but birds love them and they can provide valuable winter food, especially in urban areas.

Planting Location

Choose a sunny or shady spot for your California Privet. The great thing about this plant is that it will grow almost anywhere, under the harshest conditions, although it is not tolerant of constantly wet soil. Young plants will benefit from some fertilizer, but really this is a plant you can just put in and leave alone – ideal for the busy gardener. California Privet is free of any significant pests or diseases and very tolerant of drought.

Using as a Hedge

California Privet can be pruned at any season, as much as is needed, but light trimming from an early age will keep it very dense and bushy – ideal for a hedge. To create a dense hedge up to 10 feet tall, place plants 3 feet apart in a row and keep the upper part narrower than the bottom – in other words, trim with a small inward slope. This will keep the lowest part healthy with plenty of leaves on it. If your hedge gets too wide, just cut it back as hard as needed, right into bare wood. It will soon re-sprout. Of course if you prune regularly fewer flowers will form, but pruning just once a year immediately after flowering will remove the potential seeds, but it will encourage more flowers for the following year.

Even if you don’t need a hedge, the Variegated Privet is still a useful and attractive plant for the garden. It can be grown as a background shrub, trained into a small tree and also clipped into various shapes, with or without a trunk. This is one of those versatile plants that has many, many uses in every garden.

The Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense) is a shrub native to China, Taiwan and Vietnam, but it is now naturalized in many countries, including the southern United States. The variegated form is a much ‘tamer’ and more attractive form of this plant, yet it is still a vigorous grower, which makes it suitable for hedges and screening.

Growing Variegated Privets

Variegated Privet will grow in almost any soil as long as it is not constantly wet. That means if you have sand, loam or clay soil, acid or alkaline soil or if your soil is low in nutrients, this adaptable plant will still thrive. It has no pests or diseases and will just grow happily, whatever you do – or don’t do – to it. The evergreen foliage is always attractive and there is no season that this plant does not look its best.

Hardiness

This plant is an ideal choice for hedging in warmer areas of the country. It will grow in the warmer parts of zone 7 and throughout zones 8, 9 and 10. So anywhere in the South, in Texas, Florida and all along the West Coast, this plant is ready and willing to work hard for your garden and give you the hedges and screening you need.

Size and Appearance

Variegated Privet grows 10 to 20 feet in height if left un-pruned, but with pruning it can be maintained at almost any height you want and a 3-foot hedge is as easy to grow with this plant as a 20-foot one is. The plant naturally forms a rounded shape, with a dense form that is almost as wide as it is tall. The new shoots on un-pruned plants tend to hang down when young, giving a graceful form to the plant. The leaves are small and only an inch or so in length. Clipped plants produce the smallest leaves, which add to the neat appearance of hedges made from this easy to grow plant. Clipped plants rarely flower, but unclipped ones may bloom in spring with small white flowers in attractive sprays.

Spacing Your Plants

The correct spacing for this plant depends on how you are planning to use it. For small hedges, space plants 2 to 3 feet apart and for larger hedges space them 4 to 5 feet apart. Individual plants placed as specimens should have sufficient room to grow, so if you are not planning to prune regularly, plant at least 6 feet from buildings and hedges. Do not plant in front of low windows. When planting a low hedge with closer plant spacing, it is easier and better to dig a trench and then line the plants along it. Make sure all the plants are evenly placed so that your hedge will be neat and uniformly dense.

Trimming

If you are growing Variegated Privets as a hedge, begin clipping in the first season to get the densest hedge possible. Clip the sides and the top once or twice a year to keep the growth dense, or more often if required. Always keep the top of your hedge narrower than the bottom, so that the foliage remains right to the ground. If any stems with plain-green leaves should appear, cut them out completely at the branch they originate from.

To develop a tree form with Variegated Privet, remove the lower branches as the tree grows, cutting them close to the trunk. Remove any shoots that may grow from the trunk while the tree is still young. You can develop a single central trunk or two or three attractive stems supporting the top.

Buying Variegated Privets at The Tree Center

Because of its special variegated leaves, this plant must be produced the correct way to preserve that unique feature. Our plants are produced correctly by rooting stem pieces selected for their attractive leaf-markings and carefully grown into good-sized plants. Beware of cheaper seedling plants, which will often be plain-green in color and lack the special features of this tough specimen. Our Variegated Privets are true to the correct form and will be ideally suited to your purpose. We are constantly receiving new stock to ensure customers get the best quality plants possible, but that means supplies are often limited. Order now so that you avoid the risk of being disappointed.