Miller, James H.; Manning, Steven T.; Enloe, Stephen F. 2010. A management guide for invasive plants in southern forests. Gen. Tech. Rep. SRS–131. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Southern Research Station. 120 p.
Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum Thunb.) and glossy privet (L. lucidum W.T. Aiton) are evergreen shrubs to 35 feet (10 m) in height, with upward spreading canopies. They have thick leathery opposite leaves 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) long that are glossy, and stems are hairless. In spring, terminal panicles of small showy white flowers yield clusters of small rounded green-to-purple fruit in fall that often persist through winter into spring. These invade both lowland and upland habitats, but usually are more prevalent in lowlands and are shade tolerant. They colonize by root sprouts and spread widely by abundant bird- and animal-dispersed seeds. Seeds thought to be viable for only 1 year. The abundant shallow surface roots sprout when a parent tree is topkilled. Still being sold and planted as ornamentals.
Management strategies
- Do not plant. Remove prior plantings, and control sprouts and seedlings. Bag and dispose of fruit in a dumpster or burn.
- Treat when new plants are young to prevent seed formation.
- Cut, mulch, and bulldoze when fruit are not present.
- Minimize disturbance within miles of where these plants occur, and anticipate wider occupation if plants are present before disturbance.
- Manually pull and tree wrench when soil is moist, ensuring removal of all roots.
- These species burn hot to topkill small to medium-sized stems.
- Readily eaten by goats and sheep.
Recommended control procedures
- For large stems, make stem injections in dilutions and cut-spacings specified on the herbicide label using Arsenal AC*, or when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, Garlon 3A or a glyphosate herbicide (anytime except March and April). An EZ-Ject tree injector can help to reach the lower part of the main stem; otherwise, every branching trunk must be hack-and-squirt injected.
- Thoroughly wet all leaves with one of the following herbicides in water with a surfactant: Arsenal AC* as a 1-percent solution (4 ounces per 3-gallon mix); or when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, Garlon 4 as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or a glyphosate herbicide as a 3-percent solution (12 ounces per 3-gallon mix). The best time for applications is when new growth appears, while other times have not been tested.
- For stems too tall for foliar sprays, apply basal sprays in a labeled basal oil product, vegetable oil or mineral oil with a penetrant, or fuel oil or diesel fuel (where permitted); when safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, Garlon 4 as a 20-percent solution (5 pints per 3-gallon mix) or undiluted Pathfinder II. Elsewhere, apply Stalker* as a 6- to 9-percent solution (1.5 to 2 pints per 3-gallon mix) in a labeled basal oil product, vegetable oil or mineral oil with a penetrant, or where permitted, fuel oil or diesel fuel (January to February or May to October).
- Cut large stems and immediately treat the stump tops with Arsenal AC* as a 5-percent solution (20 ounces per 3-gallon mix) or Velpar L* as a 10-percent solution (1 quart per 3-gallon mix) in water with a surfactant. When safety to surrounding vegetation is desired, immediately treat cut stems and stump tops with a glyphosate herbicide or Garlon 3A as a 20-percent solution in water (5 pints per 3-gallon mix) with a surfactant. ORTHO Brush-B-Gon, Enforcer Brush Killer, and Vine-X are effective undiluted for treating cut-stumps and available in retail garden stores (safe to surrounding plants).
* Nontarget plants may be killed or injured by root uptake.
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