Plant in sun or light shade and water regularly to occasionally. Hardy to below 15 degrees F and useful in USDA zones 7b-10. It is a good hedge candidate and can be trained to nearly any shape and generally has very low maintenance requirement. Care should be used however when pruning as shears cut the durable leaves that remain alive and visible on the plant, so it is better to be pruned with cuts to the stems and not sheared if plants are to be viewed up close.

For more information on the species, see our listing for the species at Ligustrum japonicum. Waxleaf Privet differs from the species in that it is more compact, and its blunter tipped leaves are darker green, thicker and stiffer leaves, so much so that the leaves will crack instead of folding when bent over. The origins of this cultivar are a mystery, although one would presume it was selected from somewhere in Texas. We have had correspondence indicating that the plant may have originated at Otto Martin Locke Nursery in New Braunfels Texas. This nursery was founded in the late 1920s with the prior Locke generation operating under Otto Martin Locke Sr. as Comal Springs Nursery, which was founded in the late 19th century on the site his own father, Johann Joseph Locke, an immigrant from Prussia, had operated as the first nursery in the area since before the Civil War. Another possibility is that the plant originated at Aldridge Nursery, which has operated in nearby Atascosa since 1939. We remain quite curious about this plant's origins, as it is one of the most commonly used hedge plants in California, so welcome any additional information about it. We have grown it at our nursery since we opened our gates in 1979 and it is listed as early as 1954 in that year's edition of the Sunset Western Garden Book. This early listing legitimizes the use of the Latinized cultivar name 'Texanum' since the rules prohibiting this, outlined in the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, did not come about until 1959. 

This information about Ligustrum japonicum 'Texanum' displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.