Ligustrum quihoui

As you walk towards the Mediterranean Garden passing the bearpit on your right, you will see on your left the Waxyleaf Privet, Ligustrum quihoui Carr. It cannot be missed at this time of year. Do not confuse this with the hedging shrub! This relative of the scourge of suburbia is altogether a much finer thing. Marvellous for late summer flower, it produces drooping panicles of white, scented blossom in August and September up to 50cm long, when many things are over. Christopher Lloyd was a definite enthusiast describing the flowers as huge voluptuous panicles of white flowers. The habit of flowering so late in the season gives this species a special value in the garden, for it is one of the prettiest of privets in bloom.

An elegant shrub up to about 2m in height and spread, it is easy to grow on virtually any soil, and in virtually any aspect, as long as the soil is well drained. Despite this however, it is rarely seen. With glossy, oval mid-green leaves to 4cm long, and scented white flowers, it is popular with bees and other pollinators; it is literally buzzing with them, as you will see and hear if you have a look. The flowers are followed by small, glossy purple-black berries. It is hardy to RHS H5 (-10C to -15C), which is hardy enough for most locations in the UK.

L. quihoui is native to parts of China where its habitat can often be found near gullies or roadsides and thickets along rivers, occupying a considerable altitude range from100-2500 m. It is also native to Inner Mongolia, Korea and Tibet. As with other members of the genus, it is grown widely as an ornamental plant and, in many parts of the south-eastern US, this particular species has become naturalised and invasive.

Introduced to France in about 1862, the specific name was given in compliment to M. Quihou, once superintendent of the Jardin d’Acclimatation at Paris. The authority who named the species in 1869 was Élie Abel Carrière, a French botanist based in Paris, and for which Carr. is the accepted abbreviation.