Ligustrum ovalifolium Lemon and Lime - Garden Privet

The 'Lemon and Lime' Ligustrum ovalifolium is a recent variety of California privet with golden foliage that is easy to grow, more or less evergreen depending on the climate, perfect for creating a bright and dense screen, ornamental due to the colouring of its foliage ranging from lemon yellow to very light green, its summer flowering in white panicles, and its beautiful autumn fruiting with small black berries that persist late in the season. This relatively slow-growing shrub requires little maintenance, does not need regular pruning, and adapts very well to container cultivation, making it also very useful for greening terraces and large balconies. 

The 'Lemon and Lime' privet is a recent horticultural creation derived from Ligustrum ovalifolium, native to Japan and Korea. All these plants belong to the Oleaceae family, just like lilacs and Forsythias. It is a medium-sized bushy shrub with a naturally rounded silhouette supported by long upright and branching stems. This variety, which grows relatively slowly, does not require regular pruning, just a shaping every two years. This golden California privet reaches a height of approximately 1.70m and a width of 1.45m at maturity. Its foliage, evergreen in mild climates, semi-evergreen elsewhere, is made up of glossy, narrow, ovate, lanceolate leaves, measuring between 3 and 7cm (1.2 and 2.8in) long and appearing early in the season. In summer, the foliage will take on a very light green-yellow shade. In June-July, small, highly fragrant cream-white flowers appear in panicles measuring 5 to 10 centimetrse (2 to 3.9 inches). They give way in autumn to small spherical black berries, which will persist for part of the winter. The leaves, flowers, and fruits of the privet are toxic to humans and animals if ingested. 

Ornamental due to its golden foliage and compact bushy habit, this 'Lemon and Lime' privet can be planted in multiple ways: For the creation of privacy hedges and windbreaks, due to the density of its foliage, its medium stature, its hardiness, and its naturally very dense branching. It is easy to shape as desired, making it perfectly suited for bonsai. It is also well-suited for topiary (in ball or other shapes), or even trained as a standard or half-standard and grown in a pot. Finally, it will have a beautiful effect when combined with other pruned shrubs, playing with the shape and color of the foliage, in a graphic and minimalist setting. It also lends itself very well to planting in groups, mass plantings, borders, rock gardens, isolated plantings, or wild hedges.

It can be planted in combination with other shrubs (Purple Ninebark, Purple Barberry, Photinia, Elaeagnus, St. John's Wort, Japanese Kerria, White Spiraea) and perennial plants (False Indigo, Shrubby Salvias, Tree Lupin) for a beautiful scene of a flowering wild hedge and to enjoy its beautiful foliage and pleasant flowering by letting it grow freely.
The roots of the privet may be detrimental to the growth of certain perennial plants planted at its base. As a precaution, respect a sufficient planting distance around it.

Note that this shrub has a very high pollution tolerance, making it valuable in urban gardens..

Properties :

Due to its highly fragrant flowering that contains a lot of pollen, making it highly attractive to bees, this privet contributes to the preservation of bees.
Its pollen can be allergenic for certain individuals who are sensitive to it.