Hardiness zones
Sunset 4-24
USDA 7 (with cold protection), 8  -11

Landscape Use: Informal hedge plant, background, screen, small multiple-trunk patio tree, filler plant, containers, accent

Form & Character: Evergreen, old fashioned, formal, dense, rounded, to upright shrub for mesic landscape designs

Growth Habit: Moderately upright and rounded to 15' with equal spread. Can be maintained at 5 to 6'

Foliage/Texture: Leaves are thick, glabrous, waxy, ovate and slightly recurved downward toward the apical tip, opposite, to 4" long, prominent mid vein, prominent stem lenticels, medium texture

Flowers & Fruits: Musty smelling small white flowers in panicled clusters, fruits small black, waxy globose to 1/4" long, clustered

Seasonal Color: White flowers in late spring (usually May)

Temperature: Tolerant of Phoenix cold

Light: Partial sun best. Avoid western sun.

Soil: Some chlorosis in wet alkaline soils, well drained.

Watering: Regular

Pruning: Best pruned in early to mid summer after bloom. Can be pruned in any manner. Sometimes sheared as large topiary.

Propagation: Seed, cutting

Disease and pests: Root rot pathogens, especially Texas root rot, scale, spider mites

Additional comments: A good large filler plant for mesic landscapes. This large shrub is an old fashioned plant that is widely used across the southern half of the United States from the Pacific to the Atlantic Oceans. Japanese privet has many named cultivars and is often confused with L. ovalifolium. .