The best privet hedges, compared.
Top pick: Generic green privet, 33 plants Best value: Border privet seed, 25 – About £13.50, the lower seed price, and the title states more seeds than the Japanese privet packet. Only against that other seed packet, not as a hedge this season. Updated October 2026.
A screen, a gold front-garden shrub and a native wildlife hedge are three different plants. Only the 33-plant listing has a rating, 1.0 from one review with no text, so stars cannot pick a winner. A 9 cm pot is a liner, not a finished screen. How species, pot and seed differ is in the [privet buying guide](/hub/hedges-and-privacy-screens/privet/sub/privet-buying-guide). Judge a listing by species, root form, stated height and plants per metre. None of these prices is a finished hedge.
A screen, a gold front-garden shrub and a native wildlife hedge are three different plants. Only the 33-plant listing has a rating, 1.0 from one review with no text, so stars cannot pick a winner.
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Personal buying guide
Question 1 of 2
What are you buying?
This listing states the same plant as the 100-pack: Ligustrum ovalifolium, 30–50 cm, in 9 cm pots, again at about £14.45, with the title and the quantity bullet both saying 33 plants. amazon.co.uk shows 1.0 out of 5 from one review, and the listing has no review text, so that star is a thin warning rather than a description of what failed. You pay the same shelf price for about a third of the stated plants. The page asks about full sun and indoor growing and answers neither. The manufacturer line is RTR_MDH, as on the larger pack. Take it only if this is the ovalifolium liner you can actually order and you accept a one-review rating. Skip it when you are comparing price per plant, because the other garden-privet listing states 100 plants at the same shelf price, about £14.45.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You can only order this 33-plant line and you still want young green garden privet.
Less suitable: You are choosing on price per plant, or you wanted seed rather than liners.
Specifications
Common questions
How many plants does this listing state?
The title and the quantity bullet say 33 plants, 30–50 cm tall, in a 9 cm pot. Unit count is 1.0 count. The price on the listing is about £14.45, the same shelf price as the 100-plant listing.
Does the listing say it needs full sun or can grow indoors?
The page asks both questions and does not answer them.
What star rating is printed?
1.0 out of 5 from 1 review. The listing has no review text.
The listing states 100 Ligustrum ovalifolium plants, 30–50 cm tall, in 9 cm pots, at about £14.45. That is a pack of young liners, not a hedge that will screen the boundary this winter, and the botanical line is printed Ligustrum Ovalfolium. The listing has no customer-review line, so survival and true height are not something stars can settle. At the same shelf price as the 33-plant listing, the stated count works out at about 14 pence a plant only if the parcel matches the title. The page asks whether the plants can be grown in pots and does not answer. In this set it is the top pick when you want green garden privet to grow on and you will count the plants on arrival. It is the wrong buy if you need golden foliage, wild privet, or a 60–90 cm transplant.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want a large stated number of young green garden-privet plants and you will count them when they arrive.
Less suitable: You need an established hedge this season, golden privet, or wild privet.
Specifications
Common questions
How many plants does this listing state?
The title and the quantity bullet say 100 green privet plants, 30–50 cm tall, in a 9 cm pot. Unit count is 1.0 count.
Does the listing say they can be grown in pots?
The page asks that question and does not answer it. The 9 cm figure is the stated dispatch pot, not a finished patio pot.
Is there a UK star rating on this listing?
The listing has no customer-review line, so no star rating is shown.
The title is border privet, Ligustrum obtusifolium, 25 SEMI, at about £13.50, with the origin field printed as United Kingdom. A bullet says 1 Pc and the number of items is 1, so the pack size is two different claims. There is no pot, no plant height, and no germination rate. The page says the seed suits all types of soil and is easy to grow, and it leaves shade and water unanswered. There is no star rating. Seed is not a hedge this season, and obtusifolium is not the garden privet in the 9 cm pots. In this set it is the best value only when you are comparing the two seed packets, because about £13.50 undercuts the Japanese privet seed at about £14.45 and the title states more seeds. It is not the best value if you want hedging plants in the ground.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You specifically want to sow border privet and you will treat the seed count as unverified until the packet arrives.
Less suitable: You need privet hedging plants for a boundary this planting season.
Specifications
Common questions
Is this a living hedge or a seed packet?
The title is border privet, Ligustrum obtusifolium, 25 SEMI. It does not state a pot or a plant height.
How many seeds are in the pack?
Number of pieces is 25 and the title says 25 SEMI. A bullet says 1 Pc, and number of items is 1. Both are printed. There is no germination rate.
What does the listing say about soil, shade, and water?
It says suitable for all types of soil and easy to grow. The questions on shade, plant type, and water are not answered. There is no star rating.
This listing is Japanese privet seed, Ligustrum japonicum, at about £14.45. The title says 5 Semi and describes an evergreen shrub, including the words arbusto sempreverde, while a bullet says 1 Pc and the number of items is 1. There is no pot, no height, no hardiness figure, and no germination rate. Shade and watering questions are printed and not answered. A bullet says the seed suits all types of soil and is easy to grow. There is no customer-review line. An evergreen phrase on a seed title is not evidence of a solid screen in a UK January. At the same shelf price, about £14.45, as 100 stated garden-privet plants, this is the weakest match in the set if the job is a hedge. Order it only when Japanese privet from seed is the plant you meant, and count what arrives.
Pros
Cons
Best for: You want Japanese privet seed and you are not using this comparison to start a hedge.
Less suitable: You want garden privet plants, a known count, or winter cover from an established line.
Specifications
Common questions
Which privet is this, and is it a plant?
The title says 5 Semi di Ligustrum Japonicum, described as a Japanese privet evergreen shrub. It does not state a pot or a height. It is a seed listing, not one of the 9 cm plant packs.
How many seeds does the listing claim?
The title says 5 Semi and number of pieces is 5. A bullet says 1 Pc and number of items is 1. There is no germination rate.
Does the listing answer shade and watering?
Those questions are printed and not answered. A bullet says suitable for all types of soil and easy to grow. There is no customer-review line.
Scores use the four amazon.co.uk listings in this comparison, saved on 19 October 2026. They are editorial, from 0 to 100, and they are not a growing trial or a lab test. Weights sum to 100. A 9 cm pot is scored as a liner, not as an established hedge. The highest score is the top pick. Best value is the lower-priced seed packet, and only against the other seed packet. Nursery prices are context and are not the price of these ASINs.
Form for a hedge this season
35%Stated live plants in a 9 cm pot score high. Seed of another Ligustrum, with no pot and no height, scores low. Seed is not a hedge this season.
Species for a UK garden hedge
20%Ligustrum ovalifolium named on the listing, including the printed spelling Ovalfolium, scores higher. Ligustrum obtusifolium and Ligustrum japonicum score lower. They are not substitutes for garden privet.
Count consistency
15%Title and pieces field agree on the two plant packs. On both seed packets the title and a bullet disagree: 25 or 5 versus 1 Pc. That disagreement is scored down.
Price against stated contents
20%100 stated plants at about £14.45 score higher than 33 stated plants at the same shelf price. A seed title of 25 at about £13.50 scores above a seed title of 5 at about £14.45. The shelf price is the pack, not a metre of hedge.
Review sample
10%No review line scores low. One 1.0 and no text scores lower. Missing ratings are already inside this block. Stars cannot pick a winner in this set.
Name the species, then the form. A 9 cm garden-privet liner and a seed packet are different buys, and one empty 1.0 review cannot settle either of them.
A UK privet hedge is Ligustrum, usually garden privet (Ligustrum ovalifolium), clipped two or three times a year into a formal boundary. A screen, a gold front-garden shrub and a native wildlife hedge are three different plants. Judge a listing by species, root form, stated height and plants per metre.
The RHS lists ovalifolium as semi-evergreen or evergreen. A cold exposed site can drop a lot of leaf. Evergreen wording on a seed title is not a UK January trial.
About £14.45 can be 100 stated 9 cm plants, 33 stated plants, or a title of 5 seeds. About £13.50 is border-privet seed. None of those is a 60–90 cm bare-root transplant.
The RHS points to two or three clips a year, and to setting the line back. One RHS example is about 90 cm back from the boundary. Check for nests before you cut. Do not replant privet into honey fungus.
Ovalifolium, vulgare, obtusifolium and japonicum are not substitutes. Garden privet is the fast formal hedge. Wild privet is the native, thinner winter screen, and it is not in this set. Golden privet is 'Aureum', the same species as ovalifolium, and it is not in this set either. A stated 9 cm pot at 30–50 cm is a liner, not bare root and not a 5 litre plant. Seed is not a hedge this season. Neither seed listing prints a germination rate, a pot size or a hardiness figure.
The 100-plant and 33-plant titles agree with their pieces fields. Both seed titles disagree with a bullet that says 1 Pc. Keep spacing with its source: RHS code 37.5 cm, BBC Gardeners' World about 30 cm, Glebe Farm 3 per metre single row and 5 double. Do not merge them. These listings print no spacing. Shelf price here is about £13.50 or about £14.45 for the pack. If 100 plants arrive, that is about 14 pence each, a liner price.
Three typical situations, each with a recommendation from this comparison.
You want a fast formal hedge and you will clip it. The top pick is the stated 100 garden-privet liners at about £14.45, score 77, if you count the plants on arrival. A 9 cm pot is a liner, not a screen this winter. There is no star rating.
This is the ovalifolium liner you can actually order, and you accept 1.0 from one review with no text. It is the same shelf price, about £14.45, as the listing that states 100 plants, so it is not best value on price per plant. Score 66.
You specifically want Ligustrum obtusifolium seed, not hedging plants this season. Best value is this packet at about £13.50, and only against the Japanese privet seed: lower shelf price, and the title states more seeds. The title says 25 and a bullet says 1 Pc. There is no germination rate.
The top pick is the stated 100 garden-privet liners, Ligustrum ovalifolium in 9 cm pots, at about £14.45. It scores 77 because it is the only listing that is live garden privet with a large agreed count. There is still no star rating, and the parcel has to match the title. Best value is the border-privet seed at about £13.50, and only against the other seed packet: it is the lower shelf price and the title states more seeds. It is not the best value way to buy a hedge. The 33-plant listing is the same shelf price, about £14.45, so it cannot take that badge.
Border privet seed, 25
About £13.50, the lower seed price, and the title states more seeds than the Japanese privet packet. Only against that other seed packet, not as a hedge this season.
Editorial
Peter F. is the editor for DIY & tools at productscompared.co.uk. Comparisons in this category are checked against amazon.co.uk listings, review evidence and public UK sources.
Guides on what to look for, how to use a product, and common mistakes.
Public UK sources named below. amazon.co.uk prices and the one review line are from the four listings in this comparison, saved on 19 October 2026. Page updated October 2026.
This page contains affiliate links to amazon.co.uk (tag pcuk26-21). If you buy through them, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices, stars and review counts are taken from those listings. We did not run a lab test.
