Ligustrum ovalifolium 'Argenteum' (Privet) – Hedging Shrub (2L Pot)

Oval leaved privet, the quickest and most forgiving hedge a British garden can be given.

Privet is dense, upright and hard wearing. It clips into a crisp formal boundary or grows on into a looser green screen, and it stands cold, wind, salt and city air without complaint. It is only semi evergreen: it holds its leaves through a mild winter and drops many of them in a hard one, so treat the evergreen habit as a fair description rather than a promise.

Left unclipped it carries strongly scented creamy white flower panicles in June, which bees and moths work heavily, and small black berries follow in autumn; clipping a hedge tightly removes them. Plant about three to a metre for a solid hedge, water through the first season and trim two or three times over the growing year to keep it tight. Every privet is poisonous to dogs, cats and horses.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Privet
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Held at whatever height you clip it to; left unpruned it makes a large, broad shrub
• Growth Habit: Dense, upright, bushy
• Perfect For: Formal hedging, privacy screens, boundaries, topiary, mixed borders
• Foliage: Glossy oval leaves, semi evergreen
• Flowering Time: June, scented creamy white panicles, followed by small 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 to hold a tight hedge
• Seasonal Interest: Summer and autumn
• Type: Semi evergreen shrub