The Sunshine Ligustrum is a beautiful, fast-growing tree that can quickly cover an entire yard. But it isn’t immune to winter damage! Here are some tips on how you can care for your ligustrum in the winter months so that next spring it will be healthy and ready for blooming.
How to Care for Sunshine Ligustrum in Winter?
Sunshine Ligustrum is hardy in USDA zones 6 through 10. This means most people will be fine keeping their sunshine ligustrum alive during winter. In fact, the plant can survive in cold temperatures that drop below 0F.
The one thing you may notice is a change in leaf color. While sunshine ligustrum is great at keeping their yellow color, the leaves can sometimes turn into a darker orange during the winter.
If you’re worried about keeping your sunshine ligustrum alive during winter, here are some tips to follow:
The one thing you should avoid doing is cutting off all of the leaves. If you do, the tree will be more susceptible to winter damage and could die completely during cold periods of winter.
It’s also important that your ligustrum gets plenty of water in early spring so it can put on new growth before colder temperatures start coming back around fall time.
Plant your ligustrum in an area that will receive plenty of light during the winter. The more sun it gets, the better chances of survival!
Does Sunshine Ligustrum Lose Its Leaves in Winter?
The plant is quite random when it comes to leaf drop. In many winter locations, the sunshine ligustrum will lose some of its leaves.
The good news is that the plant doesn’t mind being pruned, which is often enough to encourage new growth again. The best time to do this is in early spring, just after the threat of a hard freeze has passed.
Does Sunshine Ligustrum Stay Yellow All Year?
Yes, the plant stays yellow all year round. However, the location of where you live can have an effect on how bright the leaves are.
If you happen to live in a warm climate or somewhere that receives more sunlight during the winter months, your ligustrum will be able to stay its brightest color longer into fall and even early wintertime.
You may notice that the golden leaves start turning slightly orange during winter, but don’t be alarmed if this happens.
Can Sunshine Ligustrum Survive Freeze?
Yes, the plant can survive a freeze. However, you happen to live in a location that sees cold temperatures drop below 0F, make sure your ligustrum is protected during wintertime.
The good news is that this is a hardy plant that can cope with nearly all manner of temperatures.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the sunshine ligustrum is a beautiful plant that can survive cold temperatures, but it’s important to keep your ligustrum alive during winter by providing plenty of sunlight.
Those who live in a colder climate should take care to ensure their ligustrum has enough water and nutrients during early spring so it can grow back before winter comes around again.
If you don’t live in USDA zones 6 through 10, then you may need to approach things differently, or even think twice about planting a sunshine ligustrum before winter.
Tim is an avid gardener from the UK. He was the founder of PlantCarer.com from 2021 to Sep 2023. He sold PlantCarer.com to Aaron. He has since started his own business called Seed To Supper, which provides new gardeners all the materials you need in a box (pots, seeds, compost and instructions) to grow your own delicious and nutritious vegetables and herbs from start to finish – no garden required.
I have a row (14) Ligustrum planted in 2018. I’m in Zone 6B and we get some severe winters. This past winter of 2021-22 we had ice, snow and low temperatures. The snow blanket lasted at least 2 weeks during the last storm in February. My Ligustrum took a beating although they are slowing recovering from the bottom up. In the past I’ve used a snow fence on their West side, and this helped a little. 100% of the leaves were gone.
I’m looking for a way to cover the entire hedge row. Burlap is one answer but as it gets wet and freezes it too is a problem. I can’t seem to find a covering mechanism to take care of the entire row with ready-made covers for that larger area.
Ligustrum is a hardy plant, so shouldn’t require winter protection once established. Just take care with younger plants, as they can be more susceptible to winter cold. It won’t hurt to cover with a large plastic sheet or horticultural fleece if there is a heavy frost forecast.
You can get horticultural fleece (also known as row covers) in long lengths and widths. Check out the options on Amazon.
You most likely planted them in the ground – but another option is to plant them in raised plant beds. This create more elevated room that they can access warmth faster and can shake off cold faster. Also, raising beds enables the soil to dry out quicker. Quicker drying of the soil allows plants to gain warmth faster.
Other alternative to burlap are cotton fibers or protection fleece. Fleece can trap more warmth under the cover.