Pittosporum – Images - San Diego Master Gardeners

Presenting a shrubbery…
or a small tree
Pittosporum
Pittosporaceae (taxonomic family)
WL Emerson
Master Gardener trainee 2016
What is this Pittosporum?
• Family: Pittosporaceae
• Genus: Pittosporum
• Pronunciation: pit-tuss-SPOR-rum
• Group: Dicots with over 200 species of
flowering shrubs & evergreen trees
• Slow, moderate, and fast growing
“Cheesewoods”
• White wood takes stain easily
• Soft to hard woods
• Once a preferred wood for golf clubs
– P. undulatum
• Trees – straight-trunked & cylindrical
• Saponin – chemical in sap
Common Use
• Popular ornamentals
• screen; hedge; border; mass planting;
container or aboveground planter;
trained as a standard
Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Sheen' hedge
Origin - Gondwana
• China, Nepal, & Japan
• Australia & New Zealand
– not native to North America
• Availability: generally available in many
areas within its hardiness range
Planting Range
USDA
Hardiness
Zones 8-11
USDA Hardiness Zones 8-11
Leaves
• Leaves
– Simple with entire or waved margin
– Whorled or spirally arranged
– Leathery
– Glossy green or variegated white; some
are red
Margin: entire
Margin: Wavy
Entire
Wavy
Leaf pattern: whorled
Pittosporum 'Tom Thumb' in Autumn
Flowers
• Fragrant creamy white, pink, yellow
• Australian varieties
– red, red-purple, purple
• End of the stem & set in clusters
• 5 sepals & 5 petals
• Insect pollinated
Kohuhu, p. tenuifolium
Kohuhu, p. tenuifolium
P. revolutum
Karo, P. crassifolium
Tarata or Lemonwood, p. eugenioides
Fruit & Seeds
• Fruit
• woody seed capsule
• bird dispersal
Greek:
• “pitta” = pitch + “spora” = seed
• Seed covered with a sticky capsule
• 80-90% propagation rate from seed
• Germinate 8-12 weeks
Pittosporum rubiginosum
Weeping pittosporum ,P. angustifolium
Queensland Hollywood, P. rhombifolium
Lemonwood, P. eugeniodes
Karo, P. crassifolium
Salt Tolerant
• Coastal gardeners
– Ideal for areas with salt water conditions
– Esp. Japanese pittosporum (P. tobira)
– Grows in a variety of soils – sand to clay
• Alkaline to acid
– Up into sand dunes
How to Grow Pittosporum
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Sun to part shade (best in sun)
Moderate moisture for fast growth
Survives drought but looks terrible
Very adaptable & grows in most soils
Hates wet feet
Weeping pittosporum
IPM Notes
• Scales
• Aphids
– Congregate along midrib on
leaf underside
• Sooty mold
• Mealybugs, root nematodes,
whiteflies
Cottony Cushion Scale (Icerya purchasi)
• Natural predators
usually keep this
insect in check
• Control ants and
dust which can
give the scale a
competitive
advantage
Colonized mock orange (Pittosporum tobira)
in home landscape
Predator:
vedalia beetle
Aphids on P. tobira
Cottony cushion scale
vedalia beetle, Rodalia cardinalis
Other Problems
Problem
Cure
Root rot
Provide good drainage
Leaf spot
Water roots, avoid
watering foliage
Bacterial and Fungal
Infections
Stem galls
Bark slough
Stem discoloration
Clean pruning equipment!
Medicinal
Australian Aboriginals used P. angustifolium
• Topically - eczema, pruritis, arthritis
• Tea - coughs, colds, or cramps
• Warm compress of leaves help bring
on milk in nursing mothers
Why we love it
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Frost hardy down to -8°C / 17°F
Require minimal care
Disease resistance is good
Scented flowers – best at night
Bees, birds, & butterflies love it
The End