In article ,
sacha wrote:

Never understood why Privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium) has fallen out of
favour. Makes a superb healthy evergreen hedge that is easily clipped into
shape annually and is not a thug like Lelandii (Cupressocyparis Leylandii)
that need cutting two or three times a year. That said I have no idea if it
would grow well in South Carolina, USA.

It's not reliably evergreen in the UK - it becomes deciduous if the
winters are as cold as Cambridge used to have in the 1980s. Also,
it does need cutting at least twice a year if it likes the conditions.

I agree that it's better than leylandii!

We have a very aged plant of L. ovalifolium towards the bottom of our
garden, at the start of a path in a very shady area. It's a lovely
plant, very handsome. Other than clipping it back a bit to keep the
path clear, once a year, if that, we never do more and here, in S.
Devon it's 100% evergreen.

Yebbut, what I said stands. In my experience, it's reliably evergreen
down to at least -5, and reliably deciduous below about -10 (at least
if that is sustained). I don't know how cold it would get to actually
harm it, but a long way below that.

Lots of plants are evergreen in mild circumstances and deciduous in
harsh ones - and the 'mild' and 'harsh' can be heat and drought just
as much as cold. Cyclamen and pomegranate are like that.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.