Can you carefully peel back just the outer layer of bark right above the beginning of the rootball on that one you pulled? And describe what you see or take a photo. Did you notice any thin black 'roots' when you dug it up?

Presented with enough sample material your nearest USDA Cooperative Extension Service branch office should be able to tell you what is going on. You will have to be able to get there during open hours that will be something in the tradition of M-F 9-5.

I'm not familiar with your weather but do you really need to water in winter? Or even very often in summer if the hedge is 3 years established?

Just looking at the pic, they are planted too close to each other. What kind of privet are they? They are literally competing with each other for everything.

The ground they are planted in is bare. They really like mulch. NOT to the stem, just around the bottom of them. You shouldn't have to water them as often as you are. You are drowning them, and the mulch will keep them more moist. Water them by hand in the heat of the summer if there is no rain for 10 days or more, get them off of a drip system.

OK, let's see, dig up every other healthy privet. Get them off of drip system. Go buy some mulch and mulch the soil, but NOT the trunks. Also, check online or in a home store for a flat soaker hose. Gardeners Supply has one online for about 20 bucks. You can hide them under mulch and you won't have to hand water them when it is hot.

Thank you guys for posting. I took out one of the bare privets and took pictures.

I didn't see anything wrong under the bark. The roots don't have any black "roots." The water is probably excessive, but was recommended for faster growth. I have turned it down since.

They are planted closer than recommended but it seems everyone in my community does that, or goes even closer. Just down the street is a beautiful privet hedge wall with privets planted every 12-15"! Also, the one that just died was one of the larger ones. If they were competing for nutrients, wouldn't the smaller one die?

I can certainly put down mulch. Instead of a soaker hose can I just change out the drippers to a lower volume? Also if I take out every other privet my privacy wall will be so very much gone... I'll literally build a wall instead!

Thank you for your suggestions!

Found exactly one grub.

Found a little white stuff on a very small portion of the root. Normal?

Rootball

Did you figure out the issue with your Privet? I'm having the same problem and think it might be honey fungus.

Nope. One of the trees now has brown/red wilting leaves. So it may have caught another disease or the progression of honey fungus? But the bark is fine. There are no black laces in the roots. No clue. The only conclusion I've come to is that I will never plant privets again.

Why do you think your privet has honey fungus?

Armillaria - honey fungus - is an extremely widespread soil pathogen and is particularly deadly to privets....of all species. But is unlikely to be very aggressive in areas with hot summer climates. But it could also be dematophora root rot, Rosellinia necatrix, which has less obvious outward symptoms, can develop easily in high heat situations and is just as deadly to the privets.

I dug up two more dying privets and I don't see any black 'roots', however, after 1 plant died, the problem continued from 1 plant to the next like a spreading disease. Other than the plants dropping green leaves until bare, the plant looks fine. Near the plants that are dying is a gravel patio with a different type of fungi growing. It doesn't look like honey fungus but just the presence of a fungi lead me to looking into honey fungus.

I'm starting to think it might be some other type of rot since the root ball was pretty wet when I dug up the most recent dying plant. I'm researching dematophora root rot now to see if this could be it.

Could be. Mine didn't look like Dematophora, but who knows, perhaps as @gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) said above, it's not as easily seen. I did do an extensive soil testing and found my soil to be devoid of all nutrients, N, P and K. I started amending my soil two months ago. Two more plants have since died-- one of which was 3 plants away from the dying plant. It's recommended that once a plant dies and is taken out to keep the space bare for 6-12 months so that the fungus would die... I'm hoping I can just dig out a whole lot of soil and replant-- there is no way I have that much patience. If it dies again, I'm gonna rip them all out and build a fence.

Unless your soil testing was done by a professional soil testing lab, I wouldn't put much stock in it. Home soil testing kits are a waste of time and money and it would be highly unusual to find any soil completely devoid of basic nutrients. Even pure sand will show some traces!!

I ran 9 different tests (home kit) and they showed a variation of nutrients— the privet hedges had the least amount. Yes, they were not devoid, but they were very low as compared to the other tests. Privets are pretty hardy as I understand it, so I chose to go with home test kit to get a broad baseline, rather than an exact answer.

Even without the problems you are having with this hedge planting if it were my situation I'd want the attributes of a sold fence there anyway, which I would then plant in front of (on my side). Rather than having either a fence or a hedge by themselves.

@Embothrium will privets grow well with the fence Blocking sunlight on one side?

The fence would not prevent anything from growing. And you are having failures with the privet at this time so it isn't necessarily a kind to continue with in that location.

Any new info on your issue? I’m having the same issue and losing one ligustrum privet after another. I live in the LA area as well.

Unfortunately more kept dying. I ended up ripping out all but 6 at the top of the driveway and built a fence. I even went the route of home kit soil testing — it was pointless. Wish I had a different answer for you.

I did notice some webbing. I’ll try your suggestion. Thanks!

These bushes are so fickle. I was finally on a watering schedule that worked -- every 4 days, 25 minutes with a soaker hose - and I would spray them down about once a week. Well, the low retaining wall between me and my neighbors property was leaking out the water so they complained. I dialed back the waterings to once a week and am now having leaf drop on what was one of my heartiest and tallest bushes. I still think it's spider mites -- they take advantage of thirsty plants -- but this is so much harder than it should be. I have Eugenia's as well and they are thriving with whatever water I send their way. I planted these 14 months ago so they should be established. I also make sure to pick up the hundreds of leaves that fall as I read somewhere they can be responsible for spreading the mites around and they overwhelm the other critters, mostly on the ground and in the lower parts of the bush, that eat them. Good luck to anyone with Texas Privets!

There were spider mites on one of my remaining privets. I was able to get rid of them. Through all my research and talking to arborists, it appears that privets are susceptible to diseases much more than some other hedge plants. So the suggestion at this point is if starting to plant new hedges, just avoid privets and you avoid a headache.

So mike did you not figure this out? I'm similar weather to you in Pomona inland So Cal. It was 120 feet of 6 foot tall Texas Privet.

Last year I moved into a house that has like 30 year old privet hedges. I think i didn't water them enough and noticed one plant sort of dying. Well throughout the fall and winter, it seemed like the plant was coming back. But it just had branches dying leaves completely falling off, and other branches that seem green and alive. Well it is 90% dead now but still has a few green shoots.

Well now come early spring, more plants are getting yellow leaves, some wilted brown leaves, and branches are dying again. The original dead plant from last summer still has a couple newer shoots growing, but is 90% dead.

Seems to be spreading.

I'm not sure if I'm underwatering or over watering now.

I only water once a week during the winter. And there are some lawn sprinklers which give the hedges a tiny bit of water daily, but not much. I don't know if that's not enough or if it's too much. A few days after i water the soil still feels a little damp but not wet. We're ina pretty dry area.

Please help as now it seems to be spreading. I hope it's not root rot or a fungus? What do you think?

I unfortunately mever figured it out and gave up and tore them out and put in a fence and threw up some Bower vines on them. Looks much better now. its unfortunate and a hge headache. sorry you have to go through this

I'm in Los Angeles and all of my Texas Privets pretty much died a long, slow, agonizing death. Unless you constantly pour expensive chemicals on them to keep the mites off, they just die. Too much water? Not enough? I don't think it matters. It's just not a hearty plant -- at least not here. Two years and about $1600 down the drain not to mention all of the work trying to keep them alive.

I'm pretty sure it was spider mites that took out my privets. The suggestion above by a poster, to hose down the plants well once a week, might be worth a try for anyone with privets suffering from spider mites.

thanks guys i'll keep trying different things... i think possibly i didn't water enough last summer so some roots died-- then over winter root rot with some rains and over watering... now the 35 year old privets are dying.