Ligustrum japonicum 'KOREA DWARF'

Privets are deciduous, semi-evergreen, or evergreen shrubs from all continents but America. They are commonly fast growing and dense which makes them ideal for screening and hedging. However, there are a few exceptionally beautiful species or varieties which deserve to be planted as specimens. Japanese privet is one of them and is too tender to grow reliably in USDA zone 6 but Korea Dwarf, a variety selected by the botanist and plant collector J.C.Raulston from North Carolina, proved hardy enough. The variety was selected among seedlings which rose from seeds collected in Korea in 1985.

Korea Dwarf is a neat and compact version of Japanese privet forming congested shrubs with evergreen foliage. The leaves are 2.5-3.5 cm long, ovate to oval, dark green, and glossy. In June appear numerous lilac-like panicles composed of small, creamy white, narrowly funnel-shaped, sweetly fragrant flowers which may be followed by typical privet berries of black colour.

It grows slowly into a rounded shrub, seldom reaching one meter tall in ten years. Thanks to its compact and uniform growth it does not require any pruning but can be clipped in early summer after flowering.
Evergreen privets require acidic to neutral, fertile soil which will be moist but well-drained, and must never be water-logged. Though commonly hardy to zone 7 only, we tested Korea Dwarf in USDA zone 6 without any protection and it was unharmed down to -23°C.

Last update 09-01-2020