"The warning was, that even though Sunshine Ligustrum is a sterile cultivar, it's still a privet(granted) and therefore will have invasive roots and will impoverish the soil for my perennials and roses."

Not sure who told you that or where you might have read it, but it is a bunch of baloney!! Sunshine ligustrum roots are no more invasive than any other shrub you might include in a mixed border and will not "impoverish" the soil. They are used frequently in a mixed border planting and will work perfectly well for your needs.

Not all ligustrums/privet are invasive and where they might be will depend on location. Because Sunshine is a sterile cultivar, it is not considered invasive anywhere and can be planted without concern.

Well, this warning was given to me by some very experienced gardeners here on Houzz, and I certainly respect their opinion and take such warnings seriously. But, as I understood, those who gave the caution, have never grown this particular cultivar. That's why I was asking for input from those who do have experience. Thank you for sharing, gardengal.

I have two that have been in for about five years. The only thing that I can say is that they get HUGE. One of them is at least 10' tall, maybe taller, and almost that wide, the other slightly smaller. You can certainly prune it but it will be an ongoing chore. The effect is very nice, though - the yellow is not too garish and the small leaves give it a daintyness. No seedlings; truely appears to be sterile. It has Abutilon, Larix, and various other woody plants around it and nobody looks impoverished or suffering.

Thank you, Sara. Very good to hear from someone who has a few years experience with this bush. I am fine with doing some pruning. I rather enjoy it, personally. I think I'll go ahead and plant them and hope for the best! The color is just what I want, something lemon/lime colored and the dainty texture is a plus for me.

Can I piggyback on this question with my own? We just bought a home with an inground pool. We have about 4 feet of grass inside the pool fence. I was thinking of planting these within the pool fence on each side so we don't have to mow the grass inside the pool fence. Any thoughts on if this would work well? Do they shed? I am looking for something that won't shed into the pool.

You've surely planted your ligustrum 'Sunshine' by now, but I thought I might still be able to give you some helpful information. First, in my garden, the plant grew much bigger than the plant label indicated it would. I think this could be easily managed by regular pruning, which I did not do. I also think the plant would be very pretty pruned to the form of a small tree. Second, this cultivar does not flower, so it is sterile, but it most certainly does put out runners from the roots. I'm uploading a couple of pics - one is a pic taken today of the single shrub I planted several years ago. The other is of the wheelbarrow full of runners I dug out of the bed around it today. I will say that if I had stayed on top of this shrub and pulled out the runners as they appeared, it would have been much easier to manage. On the other hand, I now have plenty of new plants to put in another bed! Hope you have good luck with yours!

Yes, I did plant these in my mixed border. I wish mine would grow big like yours. Yours is beautiful! I wouldn’t even mind the suckering if mine would only try harder to thrive. I water mine well, fertilize and pamper them in every way I know how and they still don’t thrive . They aren’t dying really, just pretty much sit there doing a little bit of nothing. I’m going to give them another summer to see if they take off and grow. If not, I may consider other possibilities. Maybe Escallonia Gold Brian. Or, perhaps I’ll go for Wilma Goldcrest Cypress, as I’m thinking the vertical element might be more interesting.