Ligustrum sinenseChinese Privet

Ligustrum sinense is grown for one reason above all others: it makes a dense screen faster and cheaper than almost anything else. Small elliptic leaves are held close on arching stems, the plant reshoots from old wood after hard cutting, and it will hold a clipped face at anything from one to four metres.

It flowers heavily in late spring, with panicles of small white flowers whose scent is strong and not universally welcome, followed by purple-black berries that birds distribute widely. That last trait is why it is a declared weed in several countries and why placement deserves thought.

Specifications

• Height2 to 5 metres as a shrub, occasionally 6 to 7 metres as a small tree
• Width2 to 4 metres
• Native toSouthern China, Taiwan, Vietnam and Laos
• FoliageSmall elliptic mid-green leaves, densely held; semi-evergreen, thinning in cold or dry conditions
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilTolerates a very wide range of soils including poor, alkaline and compacted ground
• LightFull sun to partial shade
• WaterModerate; drought-tolerant once established
• ClimateThrives across temperate, subtropical and warm climates

Additional Features

• FlowersDense panicles of small white flowers in late spring, strongly and sometimes overpoweringly scented
• UsesFast screening, boundary hedging, noise and visual buffers and clipped formal faces
• SpacingPlant 0.8 to 1.0 metres apart for a hedge, 1.5 metres for informal screening
• Low MaintenanceReshoots readily from hard pruning; needs two or three cuts a year to stay tidy
• Pest ResistanceRobust and largely untroubled
• Drought ToleranceHolds condition on modest irrigation once established
• VersatilitySuits formal clipped hedging, informal screening or a small multi-stemmed tree

Chinese Privet remains the fastest route to a dense evergreen boundary where the seeding habit can be managed.