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Pittosporum Tom Thumb

moragb1moragb1 Posts: 291
in Garden design
Hi there. Can anyone give me advice on how to maintain my Pittosporum Tom Thumb?

I moved into a house last year and it was magnificent and all clipped beautifully. I tried to tidy it up but made a mess of it. Lots of green new shoots and now I am scared to make it worse. When should I prune this and any tips on using shears to keep it clipped into a purple ball??
Thanks

Posts

  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    We don't have that particular hybrid, but do have lots of others in the garden, all are topiarised to some degree.  We normally do two prunes, very occasionally 3, per year.  The first in Spring, after all risk of frost has past, and the last in Autumn well before the risk of frost.  This isn't due to the risk of frost killing them, although they are not fully hardy in some part of the UK, but because it may kill new growth.  With some shrubs, you avoid cutting through the leaves, such as laurel, as it looks terrible.  Pittosporum leaves are too small to make that practical, and in my experience they look fine when you just prune without worrying about this.  We treat them much like Box or Privet, focus on the shape, but don't worry about cutting through the foliage.  A foliar feed, such as liquid seaweed, a few weeks after pruning, will be appreciated.  Avoid pruning on very hot/wet days, and use a sharp cutting tool.
  • moragb1moragb1 Posts: 291
    Thanks KeenOnGreen. I pruned it in spring but it is sad looking now with the new green growth growing through. Would hate to have to wait until Autumn as I would love it to be all purple again. Thanks for the feed advice as I will certainly do that. I will take a photo tomorrow. x
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