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Neglected pittosporum

Euphorbia phobiaEuphorbia phobia Posts: 7
edited June 2022 in Problem solving
I am looking for some advice about a lovely golf ball pittosporum that has lost all its leaves this year (had it for about 2 years). 
It has been sitting in the rain shadow of our fence over winter and we didn’t rearrange our pots in time and neglected to water them in spring. 
I’m assuming a lack of water has led to all the leaves falling off. 

Is it redeemable or should we cut our losses? It was a beautiful shape but do leaves only grow on new growth? Would we have to cut it right back and start again? 

Any help much appreciated! 

Posts

  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    edited June 2022
    I think I'd water it often enough so it doesn't dry out again and wait until you see where new growth comes from on the branches.
    After a while you should be able to see what's dead at the top and snip the dead bits off.
    Don't feed it anything until (or if) it recovers

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • Arthur1Arthur1 Posts: 542
    They are pretty good at shooting from old wood. Tolerant of hard pruning.
  • PlantmindedPlantminded Posts: 3,580
    Although quite compact, they can become pot bound within a couple of years and start to show signs of decline.  This won't be helped by lack of watering.  Ideally, your plant will be better in the ground or a larger pot.   If it needs to stay in its current pot, you could try replacing the top couple inches of compost with fresh compost to help retain moisture and provide some extra nutrients.  I'd also prune the plant down to half its current size, but I'd try to retain its natural dome shape.
    Wirral. Sandy, free draining soil.


  • Euphorbia phobiaEuphorbia phobia Posts: 7
    Thanks for much for your responses! 
    I think I will run with Plantminded’s advice and give it a reshape and some fresh compost. 
    I’ll move it to the back of the garden aka the hospital/hospice and hope it recovers! 
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