Ligustrum ovalifolium (Oval-Leaved Privet) – Hedging Shrub (3L Pot)

Glossy green privet, the fastest and most obliging plant for a dense, neatly clipped hedge.

Growth is upright, dense and bushy from the base up, so a privet hedge screens properly rather than going bare at the bottom. Left untrimmed it makes a large shrub of around 3 to 4m by 2 to 3m, but it takes hard clipping and is normally held at whatever height suits the garden. It grows in most soils, including chalk and clay, and shrugs off cold, wind, salt and city air.

Small creamy white flower panicles open in June and July and are strongly scented and excellent for bees and moths, followed by small black berries that birds take in autumn; a tightly clipped hedge loses both. Plant about three to a metre, work organic matter into the ground first, water well through the first season and trim two or three times a year. Every privet is poisonous to dogs, cats and horses.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Privet, oval leaved privet
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Up to 3 to 4m by 2 to 3m untrimmed, easily held at hedge height
• Growth Habit: Dense, upright, bushy
• Perfect For: Formal hedging, privacy screens, boundary planting, topiary, mixed borders
• Foliage: Glossy, oval, mid green leaves, semi evergreen
• Flowering Time: June and July, scented creamy white panicles, with black berries in autumn
• Planting Position: Full sun, partial shade or full shade; it copes with drought, pollution and salt wind once established
• Soil Type: Most well drained soils, including chalk, clay, loam and sand
• Hardiness: Fully hardy
• Maintenance: Trim two or three times through the growing season
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Semi evergreen shrub