Ligustrum Japonicum

[coco305]

does anyone else like the Japanese privet or ligustrum japonicum looks? 

its a good looking plant but I have read online it smells bad.  I mean how bad could it smell?  I also like pittosporum tobira which smells just like orange blossoms. 

 

has anyone smelled the ligustrum before and can describe the smell? 

someone said it smells like dead animals. How could such a good looking tree smell so bad?  Anyone smelled the ligustrum and can comment.

 

I also like the Australian cheesewood plant.  as well as the Indian laurel. 

I guess I like evergreen shrubs and trees with very thick foliage, and waxy leaves and white flowers.  I also have a type for eastern Europe insta models lol.

[Silas_Sancona]

13 minutes ago, coco305 said:

does anyone else like the Japanese privet or ligustrum japonicum looks? 

its a good looking plant but I have read online it smells bad.  I mean how bad could it smell?  I also like pittosporum tobira which smells just like orange blossoms. 

 

has anyone smelled the ligustrum before and can describe the smell? 

someone said it smells like dead animals. How could such a good looking tree smell so bad?  Anyone smelled the ligustrum and can comment.

 

I also like the Australian cheesewood plant.  as well as the Indian laurel. 

I guess I like evergreen shrubs and trees with very thick foliage, and waxy leaves and white flowers.  I also have a type for eastern Europe insta models lol.

Awful...  ..And that's the " nice " way of describing the stink of the flowers, lol..  If you -or anyone in your household- have allergies, you'll really hate these / all Ligustrum sp/ varieties.... I get headaches when they flower -and have very few allergies. 

..Then there is the fruit issue.. Birds will " recycle " them everywhere. Depending where you are located, they'll pop up everywhere.  After awhile, they start looking sorrowful when continuously trimmed into various shapes.  Many better " hedge " options out there to be found.

[coco305]

@Silas_SanconaI have never smelled the flowers of this plant myself so I always give it the benefit of the doubt.  

I guess I can use a fragrant tea olive instead as well as the pittosporum tobira. but I also like the looks of the ligustrum. 

[Silas_Sancona]

2 minutes ago, coco305 said:

@Silas_SanconaI have never smelled the flowers of this plant myself so I always give it the benefit of the doubt.  

I guess I can use a fragrant tea olive instead as well as the pittosporum tobira. but I also like the looks of the ligustrum. 

Oh, lol you don't have to get next to them to catch wind of the scent when they flower, lol.. It kind of wafts on a breeze..

Osmanthus fragrans ( there are some other Osmanthus sp. as well ) are great substitutes for Ligustrum.

If you are in some place like Southern California / or an area with a similar climate, you could use Sweetshade ( Hymenosporum flavum ),  and / or  Tristania as good substitutes as well. 

If it were available outside FL. Marlberry,   Ardisia escallonioides  is a fantastic, waxy leaf- type shrub/ small tree as well. Flowers smell fantastic too.  The other Ardisia that people sometimes grow, from Asia,  is an extremely invasive seeder.

[greysrigging]

4 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

I also like the Australian cheesewood plant.  as well as the Indian laurel. 

Its an awful smelly thing...flowers in Darwin in May...you smell it before you see it...lol !

[Silas_Sancona]

4 hours ago, greysrigging said:

Its an awful smelly thing...flowers in Darwin in May...you smell it before you see it...lol !

Agree.. Not sure how i was quoted as saying i like that plant though, lol.. 

House i'd lived in years ago had several planted in a thin strip alongside a fence line.. Tore them all out within a year of living there.. Flowers weren't bad.. Sticky, stinky seeds were.

[coco305]

Thanks for the replies. I guess there will be no ligistrums in my yard. 

I will just go heavy into the pittosporum Tobira and fragrant tea olives.