Is Privet A Good Tree For Bonsai?

Privet may be commonly used as a garden hedge, but it is one of the best species for bonsai you can find, especially for a beginner.

If you find the right piece of material you can make an excellent bonsai. Privet is pretty much bombproof and can take anything you throw at it, which is why it’s ideal for someone trying to learn the art.

They are the perfect tree for anyone who wants to take a piece of raw material and turn it into something cool. You can often get one very cheap as you will need to put some work in to them, but the effort is certainly worth it.

I would actually say this is one of the best trees you can use. You can read more about what other trees I picked in – What Are The Best Species For Beginners To Use For Bonsai?

Is Privet Foliage Good For Bonsai?

Privets are evergreen, although they can be semi deciduous which is what I have found with mine over the last few years.

Leaf Size

The leaf size isn’t too bad. Even at full size it’s still pretty small, but with the right techniques you can reduce it down a lot and it works quite well for bonsai.

Internode Length

The internode length can be quite short, the more your prune your tree the more you can shorten this, which is very ideal for ramification building. You can really end up with some very tight foliage.

Is A Privets Growth Rate Good For Bonsai?

Privets grow fast but they have the slight problem that they need to grow out quite long to get any real thickness to them. This is of course a problem if you are trying to thicken a trunk or build some good first branches.

This is why you need to find the right material to work with. If you can find a privet with a good sized trunk you are on to winner. I started with a twig… so it’s taking me a while to make any progress.  You are much better starting with an old hedge. People often chop them down to a bare stump then dig them out and bin them. If you can get hold of these it is you are going to be really happy!

The good news is that once you have your trunk and branches to the size you need them, you can build plenty of fine growth and you don’t really need to worry too much about it getting too thick and out of control.

Response To Pruning

Privet will respond very well to pruning and you are always going to get new shoot when you prune it.

Back Budding

Privet will back bud. Usually if you are just pruning it, you shouldn’t have too many problems with back budding. It will reshoot where you cut it and that will be that. However, if you took everything back really hard you would find new shoots popping out all over the place including the trunk.

This is why you will often see old hedges being hacked back to a bare stump and given to bonsai enthusiasts. These may seem like lumps of wood to the rest of the world, but to use they are gold. They will very quickly be covered in new shoots after being cut back this hard. 

Ramification

There is a reason they make such great hedges, they will ramify a lot! You can build up some very tight, compact foliage very easily. You just have to keep pruning them and the ramification will come.  

You can get some really fine, but dense ramification with a privet if you keep working on them. They are great.

Is A Privets Styling Ability Good For Bonsai?

Privets can be styled very easily. With a combination of wires and carving you can take a useless lump of hedge and turn into an amazing bonsai fairly easily.

Wiring

Privets can be wired with no problem, but you need to watch them. They will grow fast and the wire will quickly cut in. I’ve had this happen and it leaves annoying scars, but luckily after a few years it’s pretty much gone as they are fast growers. 

Is A Privets Fall Colours Good For Bonsai?

Being evergreen they will not change colour, although I have found my semi-deciduous ones are turning a weird purple c lour in autumn before the leaves are drying out and dropping off. My privets are long and leggy but I think on a tree with tight foliage this purple colour could look pretty cool. 

There are some hedges in my local area that turn this colour and they look pretty cool at this time of year, even if it is a little weird to see privet change in this way.

Is A Privets Winter Silhouette Good For Bonsai?

If you have an evergreen you are not going to see much change. If yours drops its leaves like mine, then you will enjoy the winter silhouette. I quite like getting to see the full structure on mine and being able to study it and decide what I will prune at the end of winter.

Is A Privets Bark Good For Bonsai?

The bark is quite thin on young privet and it will easily scar, but as its fast growing it will heal over pretty quickly. If you manage to get a trunk with any age you will see they have some awesome bark.

Deadwood Opportunities

The whole reason I really got into bonsai is because I stumbled across Graham Potters videos, which if you haven’t seen then you need to go right now and watch them. He is famous for taking some super ugly privet stumps and carving them out and creating absolutely stunning trees.

I think carving and privets go hand in hand. I think you really need the carving to make them amazing. The best part is that they are so tough, you can absolutely hack away at them with the carving tools and they will not even notice. This is why they are so good for beginners. You can really practice building trees from pretty much nothing and it’s also super cheap. You can mess up all you want and it won’t be a problem. The privet will actually probably survive!

Is A Privets Roots Good For Bonsai?

Privet roots are exactly like the top. They can take anything you can throw at them.

I’ve seen some trees with nearly no roots live! They can really take some drastic work.

Personally I have found the root growth really good. They seem to grow mostly fine roots, rather than big thick nightmares. This makes developing them pretty easy and if there is anything bad you can just remove it and the tree will not even notice. This is exactly what you want from a bonsai tree. People are so often scared to prune the roots in case they kill the tree. You do not get this with privet.

Is Privets Easy To Care For As Bonsai?

Privets are one of the easiest trees you can care for. They will pretty much grow in any soil in any conditions. They don’t seem to care. They will just keep growing.

If you manage to kill one, you have seriously messed up somehow! You can read more information in my Privet Care Guide

Conclusion

Privets are one of the best trees you can have in your bonsai collection. They are beautiful enough as hedges, but when you start shaping them and working them into bonsai they can be amazing. The fact that they are so robust just really makes them perfect for anyone trying to get good at bonsai and practice their skills.

Privet is very forgiving, yet very rewarding. It makes an excellent tree and you should really try and get some into your collection. 

I own a few privets and you can see there development

Little Privet Bonsai Progression (2016 – Now)