AusBonsai

Hey everyone
I have defoliated before and know when is alright to so but I thought I may as well be Safe and ask if now is fine to defoliate a privet as I have not done it to them at this time of year before. So let me know if it is or not
thanks

Hugh

There's still plenty of time for new leaves to grow so should be ok to defoliate now. It is a privet after all

Hugh, privet can be trimmed,carved, root pruned, and defoliated at any time of the year. I generally root prune mine twice each year, cut the branches back, and add blood and bone into the potting mix. As the trunk gets thicker it is quite common for the interior to rot away and leave you with a nice hollow trunk. Not to worry as the outside of the tree is the important part. I haven't seen a dead privet yet!!

Cheers

John T

Thanks guys that's what I thought
John Thats right you can't kill a privit.
Thanks

Hugh

I am not sure why you would want to defoliate a privet. They already have small leaves. Would there be much reduction in size or is there another reason why you would want to defoliate

EdwardH wrote:I am not sure why you would want to defoliate a privet. They already have small leaves. Would there be much reduction in size or is there another reason why you would want to defoliate

build ramification! it helps build a dense branch structure pal


jamie

I only got one privet but I know it can't be killed by defoliating

I have a privet that is 75mm tall. Whilst its leaves are small, it certainly looks its best after it has been defoliated and its new, brighter green (and smaller) leaves appear. I defoliate it several times throughout the year when its leaves start to age. Its probably defoliated 7 times or so per year, but i don't do it to a calender. For instance, i have been late fertilising at the moment, so it is a little bit yellow, and not growing as much. Thus i wont defoliate it until it picks up a little bit. Most likely a privet wouldn't notice, but i quite like this tree and don't want it to lose any branches.

Joel

EdwardH wrote:

all good pal


no stress


jamie

The reason u wanted to defoliate the tree was so I could actually see what was going on under the masses of growth as I was wanting to work on it and be able see the branch structure clearly. Buti did end up defoliating it this avro and have been working on it till now, repotted it into a smaller container to reduce the root size to prepare it for a smaller Bonsai pot.
I will post a progression series of it hopefully tomorrow as I still havnt taken the after pics yet. Be sure to look out for it in the forums

Hugh