Common Privet

Ligustrum vulgare

L. Species

Ligustrum vulgare
Patrick Le Mao via iNaturalist — CC0 1.0
Ligustrum vulgare photograph 1 Ligustrum vulgare photograph 2 Ligustrum vulgare photograph 3 Ligustrum vulgare photograph 4 Ligustrum vulgare photograph 5 Ligustrum vulgare photograph 6
Botanical name
Ligustrum vulgare
Also known as
Common Privet, European Privet, Privet, Privet-Hedge, Wild Privet
Family
Oleaceae
Genus
Ligustrum
Flowering period
June to July
Height
2.5–4 m
Spread
2–3 m
Hardiness
Fully hardy (RHS H6)
Reference
World Flora Online

How to grow Common Privet

Written by the GardenDecoded editorial team Last reviewed 21 July 2026 Written for UK gardens How we research our guidance

Sunlight
Full sun to partial shade
Watering
Low once established
Soil
Most soils; particularly good on chalk
Soil pH
Neutral to alkaline

Planting

A native hedging plant, semi-evergreen in mild winters and losing most of its leaves in cold ones. Plant bare-root whips in winter at about four per metre for a hedge.

Pruning

Trim hedges twice in the growing season to keep them dense. Clipping removes the flowers, so if you want the blossom and berries for wildlife, cut once in late winter instead and accept a looser shape.

Propagation

Hardwood cuttings taken in autumn and lined out in a spare bed root very reliably.

Pests and diseases

Privet thrips and scale insects occur. Honey fungus can kill established plants, and there is no cure once it takes hold.

Value to wildlife

Good value if left unclipped: strongly scented flowers for insects, black berries for birds, and it is a foodplant for the privet hawk-moth.

Notes

Privet is greedy and its roots will strip a strip of border alongside the hedge. Do not plant choice perennials tight against it. Check its toxicity before planting where children or pets have access.

Some structured details on this page (such as tolerances, pH and hardiness) come from USDA PLANTS Database (public domain). The written guidance is GardenDecoded's own, researched as described in our editorial policy.

Other names for this plant

These names have all been used for Ligustrum vulgare but are no longer the accepted name. You may still meet them on old labels, in books, or in nursery catalogues.

Ligustrum album Ligustrum album Ligustrum angustifolium Ligustrum decipiens Ligustrum insulare Ligustrum insulense Ligustrum italicum Ligustrum lodense Ligustrum oviforme Ligustrum sempervirens Ligustrum sempervirens Ligustrum vicinum Ligustrum vulgare f. argenteovariegatum Ligustrum vulgare f. aureovariegatum Ligustrum vulgare f. aureum Ligustrum vulgare f. auriflorum Ligustrum vulgare f. buxifolium Ligustrum vulgare f. chlorocarpum Ligustrum vulgare f. densiflorum Ligustrum vulgare f. flaviflorum Ligustrum vulgare f. glaucum Ligustrum vulgare f. leucocarpum Ligustrum vulgare f. lodense Ligustrum vulgare f. microphyllum Ligustrum vulgare f. nanum Ligustrum vulgare f. pendulum Ligustrum vulgare f. pyramidale Ligustrum vulgare f. rupicola Ligustrum vulgare f. triphyllum Ligustrum vulgare f. xanthocarpum Ligustrum vulgare f. xanthocarpum Ligustrum vulgare subsp. italicum Ligustrum vulgare unranked nanum Ligustrum vulgare unranked pendulum Ligustrum vulgare var. argenteovariegatum Ligustrum vulgare var. atrovirens Ligustrum vulgare var. aureovariegatum Ligustrum vulgare var. aureum Ligustrum vulgare var. aureum Ligustrum vulgare var. auriflorum Ligustrum vulgare var. buxifolium Ligustrum vulgare var. chlorocarpum Ligustrum vulgare var. chlorocarpum Ligustrum vulgare var. coombei Ligustrum vulgare var. densiflorum Ligustrum vulgare var. glaucum Ligustrum vulgare var. glaucum Ligustrum vulgare var. insulense Ligustrum vulgare var. italicum Ligustrum vulgare var. lactiflorum Ligustrum vulgare var. laurifolium Ligustrum vulgare var. leucocarpum Ligustrum vulgare var. macrophyllum Ligustrum vulgare var. pendulum Ligustrum vulgare var. pyramidale Ligustrum vulgare var. pyramidale Ligustrum vulgare var. rupicola Ligustrum vulgare var. sempervirens Ligustrum vulgare var. variegatum Ligustrum vulgare var. variegatum and 3 more

Others in Ligustrum

Ligustrum angustum
Ligustrum australianum
Ligustrum compactum
Ligustrum compactum var. compactum
Ligustrum compactum var. velutinum
Ligustrum confusum
Ligustrum confusum var. confusum
Ligustrum confusum var. macrocarpum

GardenDecoded is an educational gardening reference. Botanical data comes from World Flora Online and GBIF; growing guidance is our own. Always check a plant's toxicity and local invasiveness status before planting, and never eat or apply a plant based on this site alone.