Golden Privet Hedging Plants

• Common name: Golden Privet
• Latin name: Ligustrum ovalifolium 'Aureum'
• Native: No. A garden form of a Japanese plant
• Foliage: Semi-evergreen. Rich yellow leaves, some with a green centre
• Sold as: Bareroot plants at 30/40cm, 40/60cm and 60/80cm. Pot-grown in a 2 litre pot
• Plants per metre: 3, at 33cm apart
• Best soil and site: Any well-drained or moist, well-drained soil. Full sun for the best colour
• Clipping: Clips to a formal face and suits topiary. Old hedges take hard pruning
• Thorns: None
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators
• Hardiness: H5, hardy through a cold winter
• RHS Award of Garden Merit: Yes
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Golden Privet is Green Privet with colour: a dense, semi-evergreen hedging plant with rich yellow leaves that clips to a formal face and suits topiary. It wants full sun to hold its colour, grows on any well-drained soil, and holds the RHS Award of Garden Merit.

Golden Privet Hedging Plants

Golden Privet Hedging, Ligustrum ovalifolium Aureum, is a variety of Privet with rich yellow variegated edges to its leaves.

It's a popular hedge plant, especially for the inner city, and it's suitable for topiary.

It is every bit as tough and tolerant of poor soils as the other privets, although we recommend using green privet instead if your site is in full shade.

Golden Privet is good for hedges up to between 3-4 metres high, but can reach a full 6 metres.

Golden Privet is sold two ways. Bareroot plants are delivered during winter, November to April, and are the best value for a hedge. Potted plants in 2 litre pots are available outside the bareroot season.

Choosing a size:
When you are ordering Golden Privet plants for a hedge, we generally recommend that you use smaller plants. They're cheaper than large plants, easier to handle and they'll establish well in poor conditions. Use larger plants if you want a taller hedge quickly, or if you want to clip them for topiary.
All our hedge plants are measured by their height in centimetres above the ground (the roots or pots aren't measured).

Spacing a Golden Privet hedge:

Plant Golden Privet hedging at 3 plants per metre, 33cm apart.

General description of Golden Privet plants:

Golden Privet is a large, vigorous bush with bright leaves that clip easily into a formal semi-evergreen hedge. It's great for growing in trouble spots in the city. It does really well on poor or dry soils, in partial shade and it isn't affected by air pollution. It can grow in exposed sites near the sea, although constant wind will slow its growth.
If it's grown as a specimen shrub, it'll produce good sized cones (called panicles) of scented white flowers in summer that attract butterflies. These will mature into shiny, bitter little fruits that are eaten by several types of songbirds.
Old privet hedges respond very well to hard pruning.
Privet can lose its leaves in harsh winters: this is normal and doesn't hurt your plants.

History & Trivia

This Japanese plant was recorded by Western botanists in 1862 and introduced to Britain soon afterwards. You may see it listed in some old books as Ligustrum ovalifolium Aureomarginatum. It has won an RHS Award of Garden Merit for handsome plants that are easy to grow.

Planting Companions

Green Privet, linked above, is the one for full shade, and the two planted together give you a two-tone hedge. Wild Privet is the native one, for the country, the coast and hard winters. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Hedging is not a sideline here: your Golden Privet is grown for us as hedging by specialist growers. Bareroot plants are lifted to order while dormant and guaranteed for 12 months. Ashridge has sold plants since 1949 and is a Which? Best Plant Supplier 2025.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will Golden Privet keep its colour in shade?

No. It survives in shade and turns green. If your site is in full shade, plant Green Privet, and keep Golden Privet for a place in the sun.

Is it as hardy as ordinary Privet?

Hardier. Golden Privet is rated H5, hardy through a cold winter, and Green Privet H4, which is not what most people expect of a variegated plant.

Is Golden Privet evergreen?

Semi-evergreen. It keeps its leaves through most winters and can drop them in a harsh one. That is normal and does your plants no harm.

How tall does it grow?

We say it is good for hedges of 3 to 4 metres and can reach 6 if left alone. Left alone, it reaches 2.5 to 4 metres.

Does a Golden Privet hedge flower?

Only if you clip it lightly or not at all. A tight formal hedge flowers little. Left as a shrub, it carries scented white flowers in summer, then black berries.

Can you cut back an old Privet hedge?

Yes. Old Privet hedges respond very well to hard pruning, and Golden Privet is in pruning group 1.

When are the plants delivered?

Bareroot plants are delivered from November to April, while they are dormant. Pot-grown plants can be delivered and planted in any month when you find them in stock.