Side by side
Box or garden privet? How to tell them apart
Buxus sempervirens · Ligustrum ovalifolium
How to tell them apart – box: much smaller leaves; garden privet: larger leaves, white flower panicles and black berries.
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Garden privet Ligustrum ovalifolium
How do you recognise them?
- Box
- Evergreen shrub with small, glossy, opposite leaves: the classic low hedge.
- Compared with garden privet: much smaller leaves.
- Garden privet
- Semi-evergreen hedging shrub with oval, glossy, opposite leaves.
- Compared with box: larger leaves, white flower panicles and black berries.
| Box | Garden privet | |
|---|---|---|
| Leaves | Opposite, 1–2.5 cm, oval, untoothed and leathery; paler underneath. | Opposite, oval, 3–6 cm, untoothed and glossy; stays on the shrub in mild winters. |
| Flowering | Inconspicuous, fragrant, yellowish-green flowers in March–April (March–April). | White, heavily scented panicles in July (June–July). |
| Fruit | Small capsules with three little horns. | Glossy black berries, poisonous. |
| Bark | Young shoots green and square; the wood is very hard and yellow. | Greyish-brown and smooth. |
| Shape and height | Shrub, 1–5 m | Shrub, 2–4 m |
| Site | Sun to shade, any garden soil, normal | Sun to shade, any garden soil, normal |
| Native to Belgium | Yes | No, planted |
| Good for bees, butterflies and birds | Little | Yes, for bees, butterflies and birds |
| Poisonous to people and pets | Yes, take care with children and pets | Yes, take care with children and pets |
| Pruning months | May–June and August–September | May–June and August–September |
What does it mean for your garden?
- Box is poisonous to people and pets: take care with children and animals.
- Garden privet is poisonous to people and pets: take care with children and animals.
- Box is native: it feeds more insects and birds than a non-native species. If in doubt, choose this one.
Read on
- Plant profile: Box
- Plant profile: Garden privet
- Box: when and how to prune
- Garden privet: when and how to prune
- Identification key: the question that separates them
Also looks like
- Box or Japanese holly
- Garden privet or wild privet
- Box or box-leaved honeysuckle
- Laurustinus or garden privet
Identify by feature
This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.