Can Privet Recover Fast From Snow Damage?

11 years ago

Hi all,

My parents are replacing an ancient hedge of barberry shrubs that line the front of their home, which is on a lightly traveled road located along one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York. They are considering using privet shrubs to create a new hedge. The one thing they are worried about is that the hedge would be approximately five feet from the road. There are heavy snow drifts off of the lake (especially when it freezes). Also, the snowplows that come by their house could potentially dump a lot of snow onto the privet shrubs. Would privet branches be able to sustain or recover from heavy loads of salty snow dumped on them from November through April? The barberry bushes were able to do so, but a few of them died in recent years (they were planted in the '30s), ruining the effect of the hedge. My parents tried hard, but were unable to match the particular variety of barberry shrubs, so they decided to remove them and start over with something else. They are leaning towards privet, but are worried about the durability of this shrub. Do you know whether privet would have the ability to recover quickly and look neat again in the summer?

Thank you for your help.

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Comments (3)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
11 years ago
privet is rather brittle ... i would think branches might snap.. rather than bend ...

as to how fast a broken piece might recover.. after pruning out the broken.. who knows ...

anyway... diversify ... dont let them replant.. one type of anything ...

ken
PRO
Select Landscapes of Iowa
11 years ago
You would probably have luck with the privet but they may need to be pruned back every year to whatever height the snow bent them. They will regrow incredibly rapidly once temperatures pick back up. Part I don't really like about privet is that they need a good trimming at least once a year and often times twice a year.

Other suggestions that would hold up better would be most types of viburnums of dwarf lilacs. Viburnum 'Mohican' would be an excellent choice as would Syringa 'Miss Kim'. Good luck!
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NHBabs z4b-5a NH
11 years ago
Privet will seed all over, requiring much weeding IME. I also don't find it particularly attractive in cold zones for all but about 4 months. IME regular lilacs have somewhat fragile branches, but haven't noticed that for Miss Kim. I don't know how well they deal with salt.

Can your folks pull the hedge back enough that it won't get the plowed snow with salt? If so, check out PJM and Olga Mezitt (sometimes just called Olga) rhododendrons. They are also evergreen and so look fairly good for all but the coldest weather when the leaves curl.

If there isn't space to pull the hedge back, look into rugosa roses which are tolerant of a whole lot of unpleasantness, including salt, ice, etc without blinking. They will scent the yard beautifully when in bloom.