Leaf spot disease of ligustrum is VERY common. Cercospora spp. or Pseudocercospora are the offending pathogens. Though the occurance of this fungal disorder can largely be prevented, it might require chemical intervention now that your plants are in trouble. Ligustrum only seems to become infected if they are planted in a location that they don't like....the most limiting factor is sunlight. I respectfully disagree with butterfly 's suggestion that these plants need a lot of water....they do not. They are highly successful in xeriscaping, readily adapting to life in hot, dry, sunny locations. I consider ligustrum suitable for those HOT, nonirrigated parking lot islands. Please call or visit your local extension office for chemical recommendations for Cercospora of Ligustrum. You will be able to find something appropriate at one of your garden centers. Mulch the plants and watery them until they are established. After that, let them be.

if they were greenhouse grown.. and you shocked them outdoors ... then they will lose their leaves ... or there was a frost or freeze ... or the shipping did it ... or they were simply cheap poor stock ... regardless.. life is in the buds .... and even if they lose every leaf.. if the buds are viable.. they will prosper ... and only time will tell that.. water deeply.. and then do not water again until they need it.. figure that out by inserting your finger .... a good cover of mulch will really help in the heat of summer... you have time to figure out if they will live.. before you need to do that ... do NOT fert them ... spraying water on leaves does little or nothing for a plant ... it usually cant hurt.. but it isnt going to be some miracle ... and i doubt that had anything to do with leaf loss ... as you say.. its only a matter of time.. to see if they live.. but not necessarily meaning death ... who did you get them from.. and how are they rated by the various watchdog sites??? when did you get them .. how were they packed.. how did you hold them over until planting.. how did you plant other than tilling... more specific facts please ... good luck ken

bottom right corner... branch coming upwards.. seems to have white specks.. other than that.. it is not a great picture ... for diagnosis and yes... chemicals are the last resort ... AFTER proper ID .. can we rule out lawn spray drift ... regardless of budget.. you ought to at least.. start thinking about how to get rid of them .. yet maintain your privacy ... a pic of the whole might help us make suggestions .... one that comes to mind.. it to begin to plant replacement plants... now ... small and cheap.. so that in 5 years.. when the have achieved size.. you can remove what i suspect might still be problems ... also.. consider diversity of choice ... when you have too many of one thing.. and you are relying on them.. and they all fail at the same time... then you might be able to see the wisdom of having many different plant types ... ken

Hi there, I know it's a year later, but I was wondering how your ligustrum are doing. (They look like japonicum to me too.) My first thought is winterburn, because 1) the time of year, 2) the damage appears to start at the tips, which is typical of winter damage, and 3) the north facing wall which gets cold, dry wind. So let us know if they recovered. I'm in zone 7a (Washington, DC area), 2 zones warmer than you, and I get winter damage on my ligustrum japonicum. They're tough trees though so hopefully yours made it. That winter was a really cold one and particularly had a lot of wind - at least in my area. Cercospora leaf spot hits later in the year, in the heat of the summer; and I think it starts with the older, lower leaves, rather than all over. I could be wrong about that though. But I'm pretty sure that February 21st was too early for it to hit. I see the sooty mold too, although there is not that much there, so you might have some scale too. But I don't know, that doesn't look like scale damage to me. What do you others think?