Wild Privet Hedge Plants

• Common name: Wild Privet, Common Privet
• Latin name: Ligustrum vulgare
• Native: Yes
• Foliage: Semi-evergreen. Dark green, lance-shaped leaves
• Sold as: Bareroot plants at 40/60cm and 60/80cm. Pot-grown in a 2 litre pot
• Size unclipped: 2.5 to 4m tall and wide
• Growth rate: 20 to 40cm a year
• Flowers and fruit: Small, white, scented flowers in summer, then shining black berries
• Best soil and site: Any well-drained soil, chalk included. Sun or partial shade, exposed or sheltered
• Clipping: Twice in summer
• Thorns: None
• Wildlife: RHS Plants for Pollinators. The main foodplant of the Privet Hawk-moth
• Hardiness: H6, hardy through the British winter
• Delivered: Bareroot, November to April. Pot-grown, all year when in stock. Collection from Castle Cary also available

Wild Privet is the native Privet: a semi-evergreen country hedging plant with scented white flowers in summer and black berries after them. It is hardier than the Japanese Privets, grows on any well-drained soil in sun or partial shade, and is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list.

Wild Privet Hedge Plants

Ligustrum vulgare, the wild privet, is a large native shrub that makes a great country hedging plant.

It's the only semi-evergreen in our range of privet hedge plants, losing its leaves in mid-to-late winter, depending on where you are in the country. In sunny Cornwall, it's pretty much evergreen.

This hardy, shade-tolerant bush is often planted to provide cover, while its berries are valuable food for all kinds of wildlife, including game. It's also the main food source of the privet hawk moth, Britain's largest native moth.

It'll perform well in any averagely fertile soil, even in dry or quite damp places, where it's better than green privet. It's a natural choice for coastal hedging.

Garden Design Ideas

Wild privet has an average growth rate of 20-40cm a year, and it's ideal for a rural site, whereas the evergreen Japanese privets are better suited to towns and cities.

It's often planted as a mixed native hedge, where species such hawthorn and guelder rose will add to the berry and flower bonanza, attracting even more beneficial wildlife.

History & Trivia

Wild privet is found all over Europe, parts of North Africa and eastwards as far as Iraq.

It's always been part of country hedges, and was used extensively as garden hedging since Elizabethan times, before it was almost entirely replaced by green privet, which was introduced from Japan in the 1880s.

Planting Companions

In a mixed native hedge, plant it with Hawthorn and Guelder Rose, as above. In town, or in deep shade, Green Privet is the tougher choice, and Golden Privet is the one for colour in sun. Dust bareroot roots with Rootgrow as you plant.

Why Ashridge?

Hedging is not a sideline here: your Wild 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

Which Privet should you plant?

Wild Privet for the country, the coast and hard winters. Green Privet for shade, poor soil and town air. Golden Privet for colour, and it wants sun.

Is Wild Privet evergreen?

Semi-evergreen. It drops its leaves in mid to late winter, depending on where you are, and in mild places such as Cornwall it is close to evergreen.

Is it native?

Yes. Wild Privet is the native Privet, and you find it growing wild on chalky soils. Green and Golden Privet are Japanese.

How hardy is it?

It is rated H6, hardy through a very cold winter. That is two bands hardier than Green Privet, which is why it is the choice for the country and the North.

Is Wild Privet good for wildlife?

Yes. It is on the RHS Plants for Pollinators list, it is the main foodplant of the Privet Hawk-moth, and the berries feed thrushes. The bush gives dense cover for small birds.

When do you clip a Wild Privet hedge?

Twice in summer. It makes an informal country hedge, looser in the face than the tight formal one you get from Green Privet.

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.