I have a similar problem. Having bought a house with a beautiful large established evergreen privet hedge I decided to replace a fenced section with more privet. I bought them at 1.5 m reduced height by third enjoyed it in the summer and then watched it shed all its leaves. This has now happened for two years. I assumed I was accidentally sold a deciduous variety but the plant identification apps say it’s the same. Will this become evergreen with time or do I need to start again?
Privet isn't technically evergreen- only semi evergreen. It often sheds foliage in cold spells or in colder parts of the country, from now and through winter. Even healthy, dense hedges can turn a dark, brownish red if hit by a sudden drop in temperature.
If the site isn't moist enough for them, that's another reason for leaf drop. Any kind of stress will create that outcome, so too cold, or too dry are the most common reasons. If the soil they're in is light and free draining, the former could be the problem, epsecially if planted in the last couple of years. Many areas have had problems with all sorts of plants struggling, due to extreme heat and long dry spells. Once well established, privet usually survives though.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
My privet usually loses some leaves on winter, but always greens up again in spring. I'm a low-ish rainfall area on sandy free-draining soil, and the hedge has been in for many years (it was very overgrown when we bought the house in 1988, like a row of trees). I regard it as probably the easiest hedging plant that can be kept relatively small (mine's now a bit under 5 feet) and responds well if it gets overgrown and is then cut back hard.
Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
That’s really useful. I suspect the channel between two drives is too small and likely too dry, the soil was so hard I used mechanical digger in places. Would cutting a wider channel and improving the soil be worth the effort?
It's all about the prep. if the soil was that dry and hard, it's probably clay, which dries out and cracks in hot weather, and it would have been better to improve it before planting. It's far more cost effective in the long run. The problem is - it may not be possible to do that easily now unless you dig up each whip. What you could do is just keep adding organic matter to the area around each whip. Anything will do - compost, rotted manure, fine bark etc, and add some more as the previous lot breaks down into the soil. If you do it when the soil's wet, it helps to retain that moisture, which is most beneficial from late winter into spring, but it also helps with the soil structure, and therefore the future health of the hedge.
Difficult without seeing the site though. On the plus side, privet is tough, and will generally improve eventually.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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If the site isn't moist enough for them, that's another reason for leaf drop. Any kind of stress will create that outcome, so too cold, or too dry are the most common reasons. If the soil they're in is light and free draining, the former could be the problem, epsecially if planted in the last couple of years. Many areas have had problems with all sorts of plants struggling, due to extreme heat and long dry spells. Once well established, privet usually survives though.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
if the soil was that dry and hard, it's probably clay, which dries out and cracks in hot weather, and it would have been better to improve it before planting. It's far more cost effective in the long run.
The problem is - it may not be possible to do that easily now unless you dig up each whip. What you could do is just keep adding organic matter to the area around each whip. Anything will do - compost, rotted manure, fine bark etc, and add some more as the previous lot breaks down into the soil. If you do it when the soil's wet, it helps to retain that moisture, which is most beneficial from late winter into spring, but it also helps with the soil structure, and therefore the future health of the hedge.
Difficult without seeing the site though. On the plus side, privet is tough, and will generally improve eventually.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...