Different plants for different people and for different places! Griselinia littoralis has an RHS award of garden merit which is the result of rigorous trialling and panel assessment, so it is an important accolade, justifying the plant's popularity:
The plant does bear flowers and berries which attract wildlife, although they are not the most significant features. The dense foliage also offers shelter for birds and small mammals.
If it has been overplanted though, I can understand the desire to redress the balance by encouraging the planting of native species that have more significant flowers and fruit, but banning a plant that isn't invasive or poisonous seems a bit harsh to me!
I don't think the plant has actually been banned here but it has been overused so I can understand the directions from the council. It is still sold in garden centres just as Leylandii is and I'm not sure if the direction from the county council not to use it in the garden here could have been enforced. Even the plants that I know have published legislation against them being grown can be found in places without much effort like Japanese Knotweed, Ragwort, doc leaves, etc.
Only read about it not being great for wildlife but I agree that it must provide some shelter for some birds and some other types of wildlife. I don't remember ever seeing the flowers or fruit on the hedges of it I have seen but maybe this is down to the regular trimming. I think gardening is mainly for enjoyment so if you like having a particular plant in your garden I don't think there should be regulations against it. We do in fact have a small number growing here as they have regrown from a hedge killed back by frost but I wont be informing the council about them.
Sorry I haven't read every comment so apologise if this is redundant, but I have Griselinia Littorals for all my hedging. It grows super fast - both up and out (at least a metre wide) - and will easily fill a space and give structure which you can trim to keep tidy or leave to do its own thing. I have cut some of mine to ground level and they started growing back within the week! Also, we dug some out (I seriously overplanted) and even after five years, they didn't take much effort to get out the ground. Also, they don't sucker so if you do change your mind, it's a pretty easy fix. The edges of the leaves are gold-green and catch the light beautifully. It's a good windbreak. Because it doesn't care how much you prune it, you can use the foliage in displays
I'm just astonished at the comparison between Griselinia and R. ponticum. Unless Griselinia is escaping into the wider world and strangling all sorts of native species, there isn't a comparison of any kind. Ponticum is a terrible blight in our glens up here, and needs huge amounts of time and manpower to keep it at bay.
It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
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Very encouraging. Hopefully I’ll be able to report back in late summer after it’s had a season in the ground
Unless Griselinia is escaping into the wider world and strangling all sorts of native species, there isn't a comparison of any kind. Ponticum is a terrible blight in our glens up here, and needs huge amounts of time and manpower to keep it at bay.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Very pleased! Thanks again for the suggestion.