# Japanese privet (Ligustrum japonicum)

> The common waxleaf hedge shrub of Texas subdivisions, a dense evergreen 6-12 feet tall (to 20 as a small tree) with thick glossy leaves, cream flowers in late spring and blue-black berries. Birds spread the seed into woodlands and creek corridors, where it joins glossy privet in forming shady thickets. Fruit and leaves are poisonous and the flowers have a smell many find offensive.

Source: https://treerm.org/trees/ligustrum-japonicum · Updated 2026-11-08 · License CC BY 4.0

## Facts

- Also called: Japanese ligustrum, Waxleaf ligustrum, Wax-leaf privet
- Family: Oleaceae
- Type: Broadleaf evergreen
- Mature height: 4 m; spread 2 m
- Growth: Fast growing
- USDA hardiness zones: 7 to 10
- Light: Sun or part shade
- Water: Low water
- Soil: Clay, loam, sand or rocky soils with good drainage; tolerates alkaline soil, drought and salt spray
- Native range: Japan and Korea; widely planted as a hedge across the southern US and naturalized in moist areas

**Benefits:** Birds, Drought tolerant

**Watch out for:** Invasive elsewhere, Toxic parts, Messy fruit

## Care

Not recommended for new planting in Texas; several privet species are listed as invasive. If you keep an existing hedge, shear after flowering so berries never form. Remove unwanted plants by cutting and treating the stump; seedlings pull easily when small. Yaupon holly or dwarf yaupon makes a native evergreen hedge of similar size.

## Where it stands

- **Native:** Japan (Native to Japan and Korea)
- **Invasive:** United States (Texas Invasives reports it present in AL, AR, CA, FL, GA, KY, LA, MD, MO, MS, NC, NY, OK, PR, SC, TN, TX and VA); NC, United States (Listed as invasive by the NC Invasive Plant Council (per NC State Extension Plant Toolbox)); TX, United States (Listed in the Texas Invasives (texasinvasives.org) plant database. Texas Invasives says it is unclear how invasive this species is in Texas but advises extreme caution because related privets are serious problems. Not on the TDA noxious list.)
- **Recommended:** Los Angeles, CA, United States (On the City Plants (Los Angeles) Street Tree Species List)

## Sources

- https://plants.usda.gov/plant-profile/LIJA
- https://www.texasinvasives.org/plant_database/detail.php?symbol=LIJA
- https://plants.ces.ncsu.edu/plants/ligustrum-japonicum/