privet starter

Does any one have a privet they are working??? i found a small one and would like to know how they work...this is small about 1 inch trunk and the limbs won,t bend very much!! thank you take care john

moyogijohn wrote:Does any one have a privet they are working??? i found a small one and would like to know how they work...this is small about 1 inch trunk and the limbs won,t bend very much!! thank you take care john

Privet is one of my specialties. I've been growing them for 20 years, and I can say without reservation that they are one of the best species you'll encounter. They grow quickly on both ends, meaning you can train them fast. You do have to root-prune annually, but this is a minor annoyance. The leaves are naturally small and reduce even further in container culture. They'll flower in a pot as well, though the fruit isn't much to write home about (think of a slender, hard black olive--privet is a member of the olive family).

I almost always remove all the branches on collected privets, as they're tough to train once set but easy when the new shoots are tender.

Watch out for scale and white flies. Otherwise, nothing much bothers privet.

Enjoy!

Zach

I have several mame-size Ligustrum sinensis, and have one larger one that is deteriorating rapidly because the wood rots so easily and quickly.

They're almost impossible to wire because the branches have a LONG memory.

That said, they might interesting bonsai for all the reasons Zach states.

The larger one in '06



In 2010



A root-over rock shohin:



And a mame cascade:



So have at the one you collected, but as Zach suggested unless the branches are unusually shapely as if, you might consider removing them all and starting the branches from scratch. They're fast growers.

Thank you Zack and Jim,,, If i remove the limbs that are there will the scars heal pretty fast ??? my first privet you guessed it i know thanks take care john

John, can you post a picture? It's gonna depend on how large the branches are (and where they are).

Jim your trees look really nice...the camera is not here now ,,but the branches on this will not bend so i can use a concave pruner cut close to the trunk...maybe i can get lucky one time and get new buds to pop at the cuts..it is a training tree anyway..i will post as soon as possible...thank you take care john

moyogijohn wrote:Thank you Zack and Jim,,, If i remove the limbs that are there will the scars heal pretty fast ??? my first privet you guessed it i know thanks take care john

As Jim said, it depends on where and how big. Wounds on privet roll pretty well, but you will need to manage the wood over time. I use lime sulfur to keep the rot at bay, and it really helps. What I've found is that you can maintain a privet bonsai for many years, even decades.

Here's a cool little guy I potted last year.

Thank you Zack,,Your tree looks very nice,, i am going for new branches so i will try and post a pic of what i am trying to work with... take care john

Hi John.
Here is the only one i got.
Three years after collecting, and as you see just starting.
When you go for new branches, wire them from the beginning is my advise.

regards, Sunip

Sunip,,,, thank you for your pic...great trunks you have,,mine is only 1 inch across 14 in high...you have good material to work with..if i get new buds i will wire the branches soonand watch the wire close thanks take care john