WateringTimesWatering plan, $19
Ligustrum vulgare, WUCOLS IV

How often to water wild privet in California

In July in the Central Valley, established wild privet in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days: about 8.8 gallons each time for a plant 4 feet across, about 3.0 gallons a week. Wild privet is a fast-growing hedge shrub from Europe, North Africa and southwest Asia, deciduous or partly evergreen depending on the winter. Small, strongly scented white flowers open in summer, followed by shiny black berries. Established plants need little water on the north-central coast and in the Central Valley, though South Inland heat calls for more. Soggy ground hurts it more than a dry spell.

ShrubRated for 3 of 6 zones

How often to water wild privet, month by month

Your city
Plant width
4 ft
Your soil

Type your city above and the days between waterings and the gallons appear here, worked out from your city's climate table. Or read the figures by climate zone further down.

Every month, on your water days. The personal plan prints this for wild privet and the rest of your yard, on the days your water supplier allows.Get the plan for $19

How this is worked out: established roots fill the top 1.5 feet of soil, and you water again when that soil has dried halfway. Loam soil holds about 1.5 inches of water per foot. Water the whole area the plant covers, and skip a watering after a good soaking rain.

Which soil do you have?

Dig down a few inches, take a handful of moist soil and squeeze it.

  • Sandy: gritty, falls apart when you open your hand, will not form a ball.
  • Loam: forms a soft ball that crumbles when you poke it.
  • Clay: forms a firm, sticky ball and squeezes out into a ribbon between thumb and finger.

Still not sure? Pick loam. Most garden beds sit between sand and clay.

How to measure plant width

A shrub with its width marked from one side to the other and the circle under it shaded blue

Measure across the plant, from the tips of the leaves on one side to the tips on the other.

Water the whole area the plant covers, shown in blue. The gallons here cover that area.

A wider plant means more gallons each watering, not more waterings. While it is young, measure again each spring.

How to tell it needs water

  • Soil dry 3 to 4 inches down along the base of a privet hedge means it is ready for a deep soak
  • Leaves that dull and curl in a long hot spell, with dry soil below, point to a thirsty root zone
  • Leaf drop after cold winter nights is normal for this partly evergreen shrub and is not a sign of thirst
  • Yellowing leaves and dieback over soil that stays wet point to root rot, a common privet problem
  • Twig dieback with sunken patches of bark is more likely canker or twig blight than a watering fault

How to water it

  • Run drip line or a soaker hose along both sides of a privet hedge instead of spraying the foliage
  • Soak until water reaches about 18 inches down, then let the soil dry several inches before the next soak
  • Mulch the hedge base with wood chips, keeping them a few inches from the stems
  • Plant in clay, loam or sand that drains well, and avoid spots where water pools after rain
  • Widen the watered strip as the hedge thickens and its roots spread past the stems

Through the seasons

Water a new privet hedge deeply through its first summer, until its roots reach well beyond the planting holes. After that it gets by on much less. It flowers in summer, sets black berries by fall, and drops some or all of its leaves in a cold winter. WUCOLS rates wild privet very low water on the north-central coast and low water in the Central Valley. Winter rain covers the cool months in both. It rates moderate water in South Inland, where summer soil checks matter more. WUCOLS has not evaluated it for the south coast, the high desert or the low desert.

In pots

Wild privet grows too large and fast for most containers. A young plant or a clipped specimen can still live in a large pot for a few years. Check the mix 2 inches down every few days in summer, and more often in South Inland heat. Water until it drains from the holes, then empty the saucer. This fast grower fills a pot with roots quickly. A plant that dries out within a day may need a bigger pot or a place in the ground. In winter, let the mix dry between light soakings.

1 Your climate zone six WUCOLS zones, each from its own reference city
1.07gal per sq ft in JulyLow water use in the Central Valley zone
A year
6.84 gal per sq ft
Reference
Sacramento climate table
Counts
Plant need, before sprinkler losses
0.631.31.92.50.16JAN0.26FEB0.43MAR0.61APR0.83MAY0.99JUN1.07JUL0.95AUG0.72SEP0.47OCT0.22NOV0.14DEC0.631.31.92.50.16JFM0.61AMJ1.07JAS0.47OND
Gallons per square foot per month, Central Valley. Peak 1.07 in Jul, 6.84 a year.

Monthly water need by climate zone

Wild Privet: gallons per square foot per month, by WUCOLS climate zone

MonthN. CoastC. ValleyS. CoastS. InlandHi DesertLo Desert
Jan0.040.16–0.78––
Feb0.050.26–0.87––
Mar0.090.43–1.3––
Apr0.120.61–1.61––
May0.150.83–1.95––
Jun0.160.99–2.29––
Jul0.161.07–2.51––
Aug0.150.95–2.33––
Sep0.120.72–1.86––
Oct0.090.47–1.33––
Nov0.050.22–0.9––
Dec0.030.14–0.68––
Year1.26.84–18.41––

How this is worked out: the WUCOLS water rating for each zone times that zone’s climate for the month. A dash means WUCOLS does not rate the plant there. The figures are what the plant uses, before sprinkler losses.

Plants with the same water needs 16

Rated low water in the Central Valley, like wild privet. Plants that drink alike can share one valve and one schedule.

LavenderLavandula spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRosemaryRosmarinus officinalislow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBougainvilleaBougainvillea & spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyOlive TreesOlea europaea ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCrape MyrtleLagerstroemia spp., hybrids & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyLantanaLantana camara ssp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySalviaSalvia greggii ssp., cvs. & hybridslow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyAloeAloe spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySucculentsEcheveria spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyJunipersJuniperus spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyRussian SagePerovskia spp. & cvs.low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySagebrushArtemisia spp. (shrubby)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyCoralberrySymphoricarpos orbiculatus (SHADE)low water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySydney Golden WattleAcacia longifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulyBlue Leaf WattleAcacia salignalow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in JulySand SagebrushArtemisia filifolialow water, Central Valley1.07 gal/sq ft in July
Minutes for your sprinklers

Turn this into minutes on your water days

Every city page has a calculator that takes wild privet, your sprinkler type and the month, and gives the minutes per water day for that supplier's schedule. Or put it in a zone of the personal watering plan and get all twelve months printed.

Questions people ask

How often should I water wild privet in summer?

In July, established wild privet in loam needs a deep watering about every 20 days in the Central Valley and about every 9 days in the South Inland zone. Sandy soil holds less water, so waterings come closer together. Clay stretches them. Check the soil before each watering and skip one after a soaking rain.

How much water does wild privet need per day?

In July in the Central Valley, established wild privet needs about 0.4 gallons a day for a plant 4 feet across and about 1.7 gallons a day for a plant 8 feet across. Give it in deep waterings spread days apart rather than a little every day, so the whole root zone gets wet.

Does watering for wild privet change across California?

Yes. WUCOLS rates wild privet separately for each of the six California climate zones: very low water in the North-Central Coastal zone, low water in the Central Valley zone, not evaluated in the South Coastal zone, moderate water in the South Inland zone, not evaluated in the High and Intermediate Desert zone, not evaluated in the Low Desert zone. The monthly table above shows how the same rating translates into different gallon amounts as reference evapotranspiration changes.

Is wild privet poisonous?

Yes. It is listed as harmful if eaten, for people and for pets such as dogs, cats and horses. Keep children away from the black berries, and wear gloves when you clip it.

How do I stop privet from spreading?

Birds eat the black berries and drop the seeds, so new privets can appear far from the hedge. Clip off the flower clusters before berries form. Pull seedlings while they are small.

When should I trim a privet hedge?

Clip a formal privet hedge twice during summer. Clipping before berries form also cuts down on seedlings. Water a freshly clipped hedge only if the soil below is dry, since trimming does not raise its water need.

Why is my privet hedge losing leaves in winter?

Wild privet is deciduous or only partly evergreen, so winter leaf drop is normal after cold weather. New leaves return in spring. A bare hedge in winter needs water only if rain has failed and the soil is dry several inches down.

Can wild privet grow near the coast?

Yes. It is listed for coastal gardens and grows in sun or part shade. On the north-central coast it needs very little summer water once established.

More plant watering guides

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Sources