Over the years a number of invasive plants have made their way into Tennessee. Privet (Ligustrum sinensis) a common one. Originally privet is native to Asia but has run rampant in the Southern United States.
About Privet
Privet has several characteristics that actually might make it desirable. It’s evergreen and can provide a great privacy screen. Privet is tolerant of all kinds of soil types and drought. The flowers also produce a nice fragrance when in bloom.
Unfortunately those positive traits also can be negative when combined with its invasive nature. Privet reproduces prolifically. The fragrant flowers produce tons of berries which the birds spread all over. Those berries and grow new plants which hastens it’s spread significantly.
Why Invasive Plants are Bad News
The problem with plants like privet, Bradford pear, Tree of Heaven, or similar invasive trees is that they crowd out the area for native plants to grow. Native plants develop within the ecosystem over a long period of time. Animals, birds, and insects use the native plants for their food sources, shelters, and development too. As the native trees and shrubs are displaced by the invasive types there are fewer resources for native animals and insects to use.
Removing Privet
Once privet takes hold it’s hard to defeat. Goats enjoy eating it, you can use herbicides, or you can cut it down and keep it maintained. If you clear cut privet you may need to treat the stumps with a strong herbicide to prevent regrowth.
If you have privet remove as much of it as possible before it displaces plants that are more valuable for our native wildlife. I don’t believe privet will ever be eliminated but if you have the ability to remove it when possible please do.
Or view this video on Chinese Privet on YouTube
Rock this Way!
Rocks are a great landscape feature to add to your yard and garden. They come in all sizes and don’t need any real maintenance. You can put moss on the rocks or let them rest as silent monoliths watching over your garden. You can use…
Greenhouse and Shed Project: Location
Recently I highlighted a few new acquisitions to my garden under the guise of some sort of window collection. Clearly all you bright gardeners saw right through my windows and into my future plans to put together a greenhouse! Today I’ll officially tell you about…
The Circular Raised Bed
After being cooped up all winter my daughters and I hightailed it to the backyard and spent the day outdoors digging in the dirt. We accomplished many of the chores I mentioned on Friday (wait they weren’t chores because I enjoyed doing them!). One of…
Planting in Teak Wood Planters!
A while back Teak Closeouts sent me several samples to try out and see if I could use in the garden. They carry a really neat line of products that general come from overstock teak wood products and sell it at better prices. They also…
Garden Questions of the Month: October 2008
It’s time for October’s Garden Questions of the month! These are questions people have asked the search engines and found The Home Garden and hopefully they have also found the answers. Q. Can you prune silver mound in the fall? A. It’s better to wait…
How to Grow Coreopsis (Tickseed) in the Home Garden
One of my favorite flowers to enjoy each year is coreopsis! It has an unfortunate nickname that may make you wary, but just because coreopsis is also called tickseed does not mean it will bring ticks! More on that later, but for now here is…
Discover more from Growing The Home Garden
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.