Shrub · North Texas care guide
Ligustrum japonicum 'Texanum'
Nursery Pro tip: The workhorse privacy hedge for North Texas. Space 3–4 ft apart for a solid screen in two seasons; shear or leave it natural.
The workhorse evergreen hedge of Texas: thick, glossy dark-green leaves, fragrant white flowers in spring and dark berries after, on a dense 6–10 ft shrub that takes shearing into any shape. Also sold trained as a patio tree or a topiary.
Full sun to part shade, any soil that drains. Space 3–4 ft for a solid hedge, 5 ft for individual plants. Tough enough for a hot parking-strip bed.
Any season, best fall or spring. Hole twice the pot width, ball at grade, native soil, Root Stimulator, mulch.
Twice a week the first month, weekly the first summer, then every week or two in the heat.
Spring shrub fertilizer; iron if the leaves yellow between the veins.
Shear two or three times through the growing season for a formal hedge, or prune to a branch joint for a natural look. It recovers from hard cutting, so an overgrown one can be reduced in late winter. Trimming off the flower buds means no berries and no seedlings, which some people prefer.
Scale and sooty mold (dormant oil in winter), leaf spot in wet springs, root rot in soggy beds. The related privet species reseeds — this one much less so, especially if you shear the flowers.
Evergreen hedge or screen, patio-tree form flanking a door, or the green backdrop for Knock Out roses and salvia.
Written for Rockwall's black clay, heat and winters by the Landscape Source team. Every yard is different — bring a photo by, or ask LS-Ai, and we'll tailor it to your spot.