On 28 Nov 2004 at 22:41, Nicolas Steenhout wrote:

The darn things grows like a weed. Err, it *is* a weed

Yes. One of the most invasive plants in the southeastern USA.
My woods are filled with it -- mostly around clearings, since
they like sunlight.


I believe that many of you on the list have done some good work with privets
in bonsai. Brian Inglis seems to have some fantastic ones out in
Queensland. I think Jim L. has a few wee ones as well. I'd be interested
to hear feedback on cultivating it for bonsai.

It is considered a pest in most of New Zealand, though the local city
council folks told me that they think it an excellent form of control if I
pull it out of the soil and pot it, as long as I control and limit flowering
grin


The flowers aren't real attractive anyway -- and they STINK!
But it is more important to not let fruit form. Birds gobble
them up, then defecate the seeds while perched on fences or on
branches overhanging the woods' edge.


I think I could see making groves and forests with it. Cheap, grows fairly
fast, and an endless supply.

Great for root over rock, raft, wide spreading (mushroom) forms,
and cascade; most anything but pine tree shape. Clump is their
natural form.


My problem, however, is to indentify which type of privet it is. I believe
most privets in New Zealand are either ligustrum sinensis, or ligustrum
lucidum. I'm leaning towards sinensis, but it doesn't appear to fit 100%.
Oh humm, I perhaps should post a photo on the gallery

Lucidum has glossy green leaves, smoother bark on branches.
Sinensis has smaller, non-glossy leaves, a bit more yellow green
than the other, and (often) branches with little raised "dots"
over them.

Sinensis also is the more prolific grower. But, unless you dig
one with a big, fat trunk, they're a bit hard to fatten up.
They prefer to grow little toothpicky sprouts. Snipping,
pruning, and pinching is a full-time job for the growing season.
Watch for root sprouts some distance away from the main plant.

Where _I_ live, they're green most of the year, but they really
are deciduous plants.

You can do almost anything with the roots at any time of the
year (here in N. Fla., at least). Roots in pots tend to be very
fine and very thickly growing. When you dig from the woods,
though, you will find a few large, hard, fat ones growing out a
long distance (and sprouting periodically to form thickets).
Cut these close to the base of the trunk. Plant in a sphagnum-
rich soil and the tree won't even flinch.

The wood is hard and doesn't rot easily. It is carveable, and
takes lime sulfur well. Overall the bark is a nondescript gray
with little character, even in older specimens. It is very thin
and easily damaged. Sprouts will proliferate around the site of
a wound.

Twigs and branches have a "memory." You need to keep them wired
for some time -- raising the likelihood that wires will bite
into the bark. Since wiring scars heal VERY slowly, you will
need to remove tight wires, then re-wire immediately. However,
you can break branches and twigs into a bend and the tree hardly
notices (that's assuming you don't end up holding a piece of a
broken branch in one hand). Clip and grow (CONSTANT clip and
grow) may be the best training method with privet.

Cut scars heal slowly -- very slowly. You may have to
incorporate into the design (or hide) chop scars forever.

Mine have been frozen solid in their pots for 2 weeks at a time;
one year they were encased in ice (leaves and all) for 4-5 days.
Drought will kill them (in pots -- NOT in the wild). I've never
had a case of root rot on a privet.

Standard bonsai soil (from the rambling thread on soil we've
been enduring, I guess "standard" can be interpreted fairly
liberally [if I may use that word these days]).

I have to repot my shohin/mame at least twice a year. Roots
grow fast! They'll push a tree out of a shallow pot in 4
months. In other growing regimes, growth may be slower, but I
wouldn't bet on it.

Propagate from cuttings of most any size. I've never layered
one, but assume from their weediness that they'd do OK.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Nature
encourages no looseness, pardons no errors. Ralph Waldo Emerson

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