Oval-leaved privet vs Red-tip photinia

Oval-leaved privet and Red-tip photinia are often considered for the same spot in the garden (hedge, screening). The data below shows where they differ: size, hardiness, care, toxicity and price.

Oval-leaved privet

Ligustrum ovalifolium 3 m × 2 m after 10 years

An undemanding hedging shrub with glossy dark green leaves that thickens up quickly, grows in almost any soil and copes well with city air. It keeps…

Hedge

Full sun

Part shade

Shade

from about CZK 59

Red-tip photinia

Photinia × fraseri 3 m × 2 m after 10 years

An evergreen shrub for hedges and specimens whose new shoots emerge bright red and mature to glossy dark green; trimming in spring and summer brings…

Hedge

Full sun

Part shade

from about CZK 120

Key differences

Oval-leaved privet is semi-evergreen, Red-tip photinia is evergreen.
Oval-leaved privet is hardier: down to -23 °C, against -18 °C for Red-tip photinia.
Oval-leaved privet also takes heavy clay, Red-tip photinia needs a loose, free-draining soil.
Oval-leaved privet also grows in shade, Red-tip photinia does not.
Oval-leaved privet has pollen that can cause allergies, Red-tip photinia does not (an estimate: sources differ).

Which one to choose?

Oval-leaved privet is the better choice if the garden is cold or a frost pocket, the soil is heavy clay or the spot is shady.

Red-tip photinia is the better choice if it must screen in winter too or someone in the family has a pollen allergy.

Watch out for

Oval-leaved privet

In the colder winters of Central Europe you cannot count on year-round screening: it drops its leaves in hard frost and shoots of young, not yet established plants may die back, although it resprouts in spring. Yellow variegated forms can be scorched after their first winters. It is notably susceptible to honey fungus, and powdery mildew, leaf spots and aphids occur. It does not tolerate waterlogging. In favourable spots it can seed itself around.

Red-tip photinia

In Central Europe its hardiness is borderline: most reliable sources rate it safely hardy only to about -18 °C, although Red Robin and its relatives have come through frosts near -23 °C in sheltered spots. In hard, windy, dry winters the leaves brown and drop and shoot tips die back; it usually resprouts after a spring cut. Water it in dry winters when the ground is not frozen. Leaf spot (Entomosporium) causes reddish-brown spots and, in humid wet sites, heavy leaf drop: keep water off the foliage, keep the plant airy and clear away fallen leaves. Fire blight and powdery mildew also occur, and it dies in waterlogged soil.

The data side by side

Feature	Oval-leaved privet	Red-tip photinia
Group	Hedge	Hedge
Size after 10 years	3 m × 2 m (uncertain)	3 m × 2 m (uncertain)
Ultimate size	3–5 m × 2–4.5 m	3–5 m × 3–5 m
Growth rate	Fast	Fast
Light	Full sun, Part shade, Shade	Full sun, Part shade
Soil	Average garden soil, Clay, Sandy, Calcareous	Average garden soil, Sandy, Calcareous, Acidic
Hardiness	down to -23 °C (USDA 6, RHS H7)	down to -18 °C (USDA 6, RHS H6)
Heat tolerance	Medium (uncertain)	High
Foliage	Semi-evergreen	Evergreen
Flowering	June–July, white	April–May, white
Water need	Medium	Medium
Drought tolerance	Medium	Medium
Maintenance	Medium	Medium
Planted as a hedge	4 plants per running metre	2.5 plants per running metre
For dogs	Toxic	Mildly toxic (uncertain)
For cats	Toxic	Mildly toxic (uncertain)
For children	Toxic (uncertain)	Mildly toxic (uncertain)
Typical price	about CZK 59 (40–60 cm)	about CZK 2,200 (60–100 cm)

Prices are rounded, indicative values. Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor. Data updated: October 26, 2026

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