Mariposa,

I don't have it here in Oklahoma, but lots of people grew it in the Texas neighborhood where I grew up and I love the way it looks.

In answer to your question, yes, it gets really big! So, be sure y'all plant them at the recommended spacing. I hope you enjoy growing it and that it gives you the look you want.

Dawn

Dawn, is it going to be too big for a boxed in area near the window? I sort of want a shrub hedge and now I'm panicking about where we planted them.

This is a good example of why I should not buy plants from HD. The guy said this would be ideal for my yard, but there really isn't that much space for such a huge shrub!

About the Privet - Chinese South :

The Chinese South Privet, Ligustrum sinense, is an abundant semi-evergreen small tree or large shrub, most commonly found invading the understory of moist areas. Copious amounts of fruits are produced. The berries turn black when ripe and are gobbled up by birds, which spread the seeds far and wide.

The foilage is sometimes so thick that nothing can grow underneath the shrub. It usually reaches a height of 15 feet and has pretty white flowers in the late spring. Its oval leaves are dark green

Hi Mariposa,

Well, where I grew up the privets did get HUGE, so you may have trouble keeping it at the height you want it. I was hoping you were planting it along a fence line for privacy or something, and not too close to a house.

Privet will make a gorgeous tall hedge, but you might not want it right up close to the house--guess it would eventually completely hide your house from passers-by.

Privet does respond well to pruning...but, you bought the variegated kind of privet, and frequent pruning of it can ruin the variegation and leave you with green privet. I don't know the technical explanation for why this occurs, but I've seen it happen.

Once in a blue moon, a VERY INTENSE cold spell will kill privet here. I an referring to the truly awful cold snap that hits like a bolt out of the blue before plants have had enough cold winter weather to be truly hardened off.
It happened in Fort Worth in 1983 and many, many privets froze. There was a less intense cold snap about 10 years later and many privets survived. I am talking about the kind of cold spell that breaks water mains, etc. and not just the standard winter cold front we get every year.

Don't listen to those HD guys. Next time, make yourself a list and do research ahead of time. If you want a shrub to plant near a house area, it is best to stick with dwarf shrubs. The word "dwarf" can be misleading. It makes a plant sound like it will only get 2 or 3 feet tall. But it can mean that the "dwarf" version of a particular cultivar will get 5 to 7 feet tall, as in the case of dwarf Burford Holly, because the standard version of that plant gets 12 to 15 feet tall. On the other hand, with a plant like Abelia whose standard version might get 5 to 6' tall, the dwarf version probably would get 2 to 3' tall. It is all relative.

I have found that many plants get taller more quickly in our long growing season and climate than they do in areas with shorter growing seasons and a less welcoming climate.

Another tip, if you want to ask on Garden Web about what shrub might do well in a specific area, be sure to give as much specific info as possible. For example, instead of saying "Will 'Nellie R. Stevens' holly grow well here?" (to which we would say 'yes!') specify "Would 'Nellie R. Stevens' holly make a nice hedge to plant across the front of my house, about 3' from the wall of the house?" to which we will scream "No! That shrub can get 25' tall and become a tree!" See what a difference exact and precise wording of a question can make.

It sounds so hard, and it can be so discouraging to come home with some plants you like that look great, and THEN to discover they might not be the right plant for the place you intended to plant them.

Do not despair and do not give up!

One way I learned about planting the "right plant in the right place" was from planting the "wrong plant in the wrong place". Learning by doing can be painful but I guarantee you that the lessons learned will stick with you forever!

Dawn

Dawn, you are so kind to explain all of this to me. Thanks. I feel so discouraged because I told the guy that I didn't really know much and I explained where I wanted the shrub to grow and the fact that there isn't much sun (almost none until very late in the evening). He assured me the privet would be great! On further reading (after we planted seven of them) I found out while reading online that these plants get HUGE!

We can take them up and put them near the fence, but I'm still going to need something for my back yard. The area is right below my windows (like where people usually put something like boxwood in their front yard), and there is practically no direct sun because of some big trees and a building over the fence. I planted vinca as ground cover, and some hostas in between since the Privet is very small right now, but I see that nothing would grow once they take off. Gardening is hard :-(

The other plants that the dummy assured me would be fabulous for the area I mentioned above Dawn were rhododendrons. Of course the tags didn't mention height, and again I'm checking to find out that they could grow to 6'???? That would not do unless I can keep trimming them back.

If you can grow rhododendrons, you must have incredibly wonderful soil and much nicer weather and rainfall than we have! Here, if you tell a rhododendron you are going to plant it in southern Oklahoma, it just jumps right out of the pot and falls over dead right on the spot! And that is OK with me because it just saves me the trouble of taking it home and watching it die a slow death.

I hope you didn't buy any, unless you have the right soil, water and climate (a climate like you would find along the west coast of the U.S., from Washington to Oregon to the California coast--a climate with lots of rain, some sun, and only mild heat).

Rhododendruns are related to Azaleas which do grow in the southeastern U.S., including Oklahoma, although they require lots of soil prep and amending, and can never be allowed to get too dry in their mostly shady location.

Rhododendrons require soil with a pH of 5.5. which means it is acidic soil. Do you know what pH your soil is? Mine is right about 7.0, which is neutral & headed towards alkaline.
That's why I can't grow plants that need acidic soil like azaleas and rhododendruns.

And I do believe from what little I know that rhodies get fairly big, but there might be dwarf ones out there.

Sounds like you're having a hard time getting matched up with the right shrubs. Your hostas and vincas sound lovely, though.

How about this? I will post a list of shrubs & other stuff for you on a new thread. I'm putting it on a new thread so others who can use the list will be able to find it.

Hope it helps! (Think I can do better than the HD guy has done so far!)

Dawn

Thank you Dawn. I picked a new location for the Privets, and will return the others that I don't have space for. Our yard is small (not tiny) but small. I did buy two of those Rhododendrons but since HD has the policy of returning if they die, I'll keep them for now. What a silly man. I told him about this garden forum with EXPERT gardeners and he just looked at me in a pitiful manner. I'll check the post you're making. Thanks a bunch. I will be sure to let the manager know what I think of their garden centre and their 'experts.'!

Mariposa,

You are welcome. I was glad to be of assistance. Glad it was not too late to do something with the privets. They really are nice shrubs if they are in a place where they can grow tall and wide.

Be sure to put your Rhododendrum receipt somewhere for safekeeping, so you'll have it if they die and you need to return them. I have a manilla envelope I stuff my receipts into.

I know you are irritated with HD's employees and have the right to be. In Texas we had a course that nursery employees could take to become Certified Nurserymen. It was sort of like the Master Gardener course that citizens can take through the extension service. It was nice. If you were talking to one of the Certified Nurserymen, you could tell they knew what they were talking about.

Dawn

Hey girls, I worked in the nursery dept at HD for one spring several years ago. It was awful. I think their main criteria for hiring their plant people is how strong a back they have for moving stuff around. Plant knowledge is NOT a requirement. Needless to say, I didn't stay around long.