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In summer cottages and in gardens, plants are often grown as living enclosures. Mainly ornamental trees and shrubs with picturesque leaves or beautiful flowers. Oval-leaved privet is one such plant that is widely used by landscape designers.
This shrub is a relative of lilacs, they have similar leaves and flowers. But in order for the privet to fit into the design, it must be cut, giving the plant the desired shape.
Description of oval-leaved privet
Oval-leaved privet grows up to 2 m.If you grow a crop like a tree, then the dense crown takes about 6 m.
The name of the species was not chosen by chance, but due to the shape of the oval leaf plates. On the outside, they are dark green, the lower part of the leaf is much lighter.
Flowering begins in early June or July, it all depends on the growing region and climatic features. White panicles 15-20 cm long are pleasing to the eye for almost 3 months. Fragrant flowers are an excellent honey plant. In place of the inflorescences, fruits are formed - bones of blue or black color. Each fruit contains 1-3 seeds.
Since the oval-leaved privet grows quickly, is frost-resistant, it is most often grown as a green hedge. You just need to skillfully trim the bushes.
Oval-leaved privet varieties
Oval-leaved privet is a representative of the Olive family. The name comes from the Latin ligare (to knit). And this is no coincidence: the bark of plants has an astringent effect.
These evergreen trees or shrubs grow in Europe and Asia. There are over 50 varieties.
Privet oval-leaved Aureum
Privet Aureum is a semi-evergreen shrub that does not grow higher than 1.5 m. Inflorescences never form on the oval-leaved privet Aureum. Landscape designers choose the plant for its unusual leaves. Against the background of green, the border of a golden hue stands out brightly.
To maintain the color of the leaf plates, the plant must be planted in the sun, since in the shade the yellow border disappears. Since the variety is semi-evergreen, leaf fall is observed only when grown in temperate climates. In the southern regions, oval-leaved privet Aureum winters with leaves.
Privet oval-leaved Green Diamond
Green Diamond is translated as "green diamond".
A dwarf shrub with upright, well-branched shoots, height - no more than 60 cm. The foliage is bright green, shiny, does not fly around in the fall and does not change color.
Abundant flowering, creamy white buds, reminiscent of bunches. Late June or early July flowering shrub fills the whole area with honey aroma.
The variety is unpretentious in care, undemanding to the composition of the soil, winter-hardy, with excellent immunity against diseases and pests. The oval-leaved privet can be safely cut off, from such a procedure it grows even more.
In landscape design, Green Diamond is used for planting in pots, for decorating borders and hedges. The oval-leaved privet among conifers and shrubs looks great.
Privet oval-leaved Argentum
This variety is a low-growing shrub - no higher than 1 m. The oval-leaved privet Argentum corresponds to the name of the chemical element: a cream border is located on the leaf blades. From the side it seems that they walked over the leaves with silver.
The shrub blooms in June-July. It can be grown in any climatic conditions, as the oval-leaved privet is an unpretentious plant.
Pruning only benefits the bushes, which are most often planted on boarders.
Planting and caring for round-leaved privet
Planting is practically no different from other deciduous shrubs. Work can be scheduled in early spring, before bud break, or mid-September. In the south, privet planting can be done in October.
The plant is demanding on nutrient soil. The mixture is made up of the following components:
- humus;
- leafy land;
- peat;
- sand of coarse fractions.
You should not choose an area where groundwater rises close to the surface. In any case, a reliable drainage cushion is laid on the bottom of the pit, since the root system does not tolerate waterlogging.
Caring for oval-leaved privet comes down to the following activities:
- weeding and loosening;
- watering and feeding;
- various types of pruning.
Seedling and planting plot preparation
Seedlings purchased or grown independently must be saturated with moisture and disinfected from diseases and pests. To do this, privet with an open root system is placed in a pink solution of manganese or any agent that stimulates the development of this part of the plant.
Seedlings grown in containers are watered with water 1-2 hours before planting in order to remove the plant without damaging the roots.
The round-leaved privet prefers nutritious soils, the main thing is that they are not too acidic. As well as open, well-lit areas.
Before planting, the soil is dug onto the bayonet of a shovel, choose weeds... For a single or group arrangement of bushes, holes are dug. If privet is planted to create a hedge, then they dig a trench.
Landing rules
And now about the landing algorithm:
- Dig a hole 75x75 cm in size, with a depth of 40 cm exceeding the length of the roots. Fill it with water.
- When the water is absorbed, lay a drainage cushion (15 cm) of rubble or small pebbles.
- Fill with nutrient mixture.
- Spread the root system of the privet seedling, set in the center of the hole.
- Fill up the soil so that the root collar remains above the surface.
- Trample and water the soil around the trunk.
- To retain moisture, the root zone must be mulched.
For a hedge, seedlings are placed in a trench at a distance of 40-45 cm in a checkerboard pattern. The planting process is no different.
Watering and feeding
Systematic watering is required for seedlings after planting for successful rooting. In the future, irrigation is performed only in dry times, since thanks to its powerful roots, privet is able to extract moisture itself.
When watering, you need to make sure that the soil is wet at least not 0.5 m. An adult plant needs 3-4 buckets of water for 1 time.
With regards to feeding, it is best to use organic matter. It is scattered around the stems. The round-leaved privet Aureum responds well to watering with green fertilizer.
Pruning
Privet oval-leaved perfectly tolerates pruning. Do not be afraid that during the first haircut something will not work: the plant quickly grows new shoots.They begin to form a bush 2-3 weeks after planting the seedlings and continue all the time while it grows on the site.
Various compositions can be formed from a single privet bush. Moreover, a haircut is carried out at any time.
Hedges are trimmed in May and August, cutting off the shoots by 50 cm. The taller bushes are more difficult to winter.
Sanitary pruning is performed in the spring, damaged shoots are removed, not forgetting to cut a third of the length during work.
Preparing for winter
If oval-leaved privet is grown in the zone of risky farming, then in the fall compost is poured to a height of 15-20 cm in order to preserve the root system. Then the bushes are cut. If a winter with little snow is expected, it would not hurt to cover the bushes on top with spruce branches.
Reproduction of privet oval
The plant is easy to propagate on your own, since seedlings can be obtained:
- layering;
- root suckers;
- cuttings.
Breeding work is carried out in the spring. Layers and cuttings must grow at least 1-1.5 years before planting in a permanent place. During this time, the plants will develop a good root system.
Diseases and pests
The bushes of privet oval-leaved have good immunity to almost all diseases of deciduous plants. But when planted in acidic soils, they can suffer from powdery mildew and spotting. To avoid problems, you need to monitor the acidic composition of the soil. If the acid balance has increased, you can solve the problem with:
- ground limestone;
- dolomite flour;
- lime fluff.
The main pests of the plant are:
- aphids and thrips;
- worms and spider mites;
- shield.
For the prevention and destruction of pests, experienced gardeners recommend Fitoverm or Aktellik. If insects have already inhabited privet, then you will have to spray at least 4 times with breaks for 2 weeks.
Conclusion
Oval-leaved privet - unpretentious semi - or evergreen shrub, depending on the variety. This plant becomes a real decoration of the garden, park, so it is highly appreciated by landscape designers. From the bushes, you can get various shapes thanks to the shearing: cones, balls, dense pillows called karyoks.
