Last month I spoke to yall about our trees blooming and casting their pollen onto everything around us. Now here in May, with the pecan trees in full leaf, our trees have concluded their dance. Over the past two weeks, many in the Birmingham area still complained about their allergies.
Remember all good things must come to an end, and this is true of spring pollen. The main culprit for the last two weeks has been privet hedge. You know what I’m talking about, those bushes with white flowers blooming everywhere along our highways and county roads. Most people call it privet hedge. Those who work in the natural resource arena most commonly call it Chinese Privet (Ligustrum sinense).
Privet, is a deciduous shrub growing to 2–7 m tall, with densely hairy shoots. The leaves are opposite, 2–7 cm long and 1–3 cm broad, rarely larger, with a smooth leaf edge and a 2–8 mm leaf stem. The flowers in large clusters are white, and the fruit looks like tiny blue-black footballs in clusters. It has been cultivated for years as an ornamental plant and for hedges. It is still sold today. It was introduced to North America to be used for hedges and landscaping where it has now escaped from cultivation and is listed as an invasive plant in southeastern states. According to US Forest Service, Forest Inventory and Analysis data, Alabama has 23 million acres of forestland. Also, according to this data, one million acres of this forestland is covered by privet. From Virginia to Florida, west to Texas, privet has detrimental effects to biodiversity and forest health.
Studies have shown where tiny “knee-high” whips of privet existing under a hardwood forest in south Alabama before Hurricane Ivan, after the storm the privet quickly grew and took over the forest site. Personally, I have seen sites where the only thing growing under the large trees, was privet. The shade from a 15-20’ privet forest so completely shades the ground that nothing else grows under them. In a pine forest, privet will put a prescribed fire out, not allowing managers the opportunity to improve forest health.
While the pollen/hay fever battle with privet has come to a close for 2016, the battle with this invasive continues. First, do not plant this plant. As you go to your favorite nursery, encourage them to no longer carry the plants. Second, remove them from your landscaping. Finally, get involved. There are citizen environmental groups that help “pull” privet from the woods on public land. On private property, do some pulling of your own, or better yet learn how to properly apply herbicides to kill the privet without harming the native plants. Extension has a publication on privet control. You can get this online at: Control Options for Chinese Privet - ANR-1468
Garden Talk is written by Andrew J. Baril of the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, C. Beaty Hanna Horticulture & Environmental Center, which is based at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens. This column includes research-based information from land-grant universities around the country, including Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities. Email questions to ajb0012@auburn.edu, or call 205 879-6964. The Alabama Cooperative Extension System (Alabama A&M and Auburn Universities), is an equal opportunity employer and educator. Everyone is welcome!