Lucidum Ligustrum – Ligustrum lucidum (Glossy Privet, Live Plant)

The Glossy Privet (Ligustrum lucidum), often sold as Lucidum Ligustrum, is a fast-growing broadleaf evergreen prized for its dense, lustrous dark-green foliage and quick screening power. Its large, glossy leaves give it a lush, polished look year-round, and in early summer it is topped with fragrant, creamy-white flower panicles followed by clusters of blue-black berries. As a result, naturally a large shrub or small tree, the Glossy Privet can be sheared into a tidy hedge or privacy screen, or trained up as an elegant small specimen tree, making it one of the most versatile, low-fuss evergreens for fast structure and screening.

Why Grow a Glossy Privet?

• Fast evergreen screening – quick, dense growth and big, glossy leaves make a privacy hedge or windscreen in a hurry.
• Hedge or small tree – shear it low and formal, or train it into a graceful multi-trunked specimen tree.
• Fragrant summer flowers – creamy-white panicles in early summer add color and scent.
• Tough & adaptable – also drought-, salt-, and pollution-tolerant, thriving in poor and alkaline soils and urban conditions.
• Deer-resistant & shear-friendly – deer leave it alone, and it takes hard pruning beautifully for crisp shapes.

Looking for more evergreen structure and screening plants? Browse our Shrubs & Bushes and Trees collections.

Plant Specifications at a Glance

• Botanical name: Ligustrum lucidum (glossy privet, tree privet, wax-leaf privet)
• Plant type: Broadleaf evergreen shrub or small tree
• Plant family: Oleaceae (the olive family)
• Mature size: commonly 12–15 feet as a shrub, reaching 20–30+ feet trained as a tree, and easily kept to 8–10 feet (or lower) as a sheared hedge
• Foliage: Large, glossy, dark-green evergreen leaves (bigger than those of Chinese privet)
• Flowers & fruit: Fragrant creamy-white panicles in early summer, followed by blue-black berries
• Notable traits: Fast-growing; drought-, salt-, and pollution-tolerant; deer-resistant; takes shearing well
• Cold Hardiness Zones: 8–10

Glossy Privet Care & Growing Guide

This is an easygoing, low-maintenance evergreen. Follow these guidelines:

• Sunlight: Full sun to partial shade. Generally, more sun gives the densest growth for screening.
• Water: Water regularly to establish a strong root system, and more often in extreme heat. Once mature, it is moderately drought-tolerant and needs only occasional watering.
• Soil: Adapts to most soils (including clay and alkaline), though it prefers well-drained ground and will not tolerate standing water. In addition, mulching helps suppress weeds, hold moisture, and keep roots cool.
• Cold Hardiness Zone: 8–10.
• Pruning: Responds very well to pruning, so shear 2 to 3 times per year for a crisp hedge, or limb it up to form a small tree. In addition, shearing off the flowers before they set fruit keeps it tidy and helps prevent unwanted seeding.

Good to know: the leaves and berries of privet are toxic to people, pets, and livestock if eaten, so keep them out of reach. Glossy privet is also a vigorous grower that can become invasive in some regions, since birds spread the seeds from its berries. Therefore, it is smart to keep it sheared (removing flowers and berries), remove any root suckers, and check your local guidelines before planting.

Ways to Use Glossy Privet in the Landscape

This fast, glossy evergreen fits many screening and structure needs. Popular uses for the Glossy Privet include:

• Fast privacy hedge or evergreen screen
• Also a windbreak along property lines
• Small specimen or multi-trunked patio tree
• Similarly, formal, sheared shapes, standards, and topiary
• Tough urban, street, and parking-area plantings

It pairs well with other hedging and structure plants. For example, gardeners often combine it with the colorful Variegated Chinese Privet, the tidy Japanese Boxwood, or the soft-textured Podocarpus.

What You’ll Receive

This is a live Glossy Privet (Lucidum Ligustrum) starter plant, grown and shipped by Carlo’s Plant Farm. Each plant is less than 12 inches tall when we ship it. The listing photos show mature plants of the same species. That way, you can see how yours will look as they grow. Finally, choose your preferred bundle size using the options above.

Also, due to different state laws, we reserve the right to charge extra fees where necessary to comply.

Ordering, Shipping & Returns

Every order ships free and is insured against loss or damage in transit. For full details on how we pack and send your plants, processing and delivery times, and what to do in the rare case of a problem, please review our Shipping Policy and Terms & Conditions before purchasing. By placing an order, you agree to those terms.

Glossy Privet FAQ

Growing & Care Questions

Safety, Hardiness & Shipping Questions