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Pittosporum hedge

fluviafluvia Posts: 48
in Plants
Has anyone tried a Pittosporum only hedge? I've planted 4 Pittosporum silver queen in a border at the back of the house and they look beautiful only when standing close to it. I'm thinking to relocate them in front lawn as its beauty is appreciated within few steps and aren't too overpowering like a standard hedge. Any thoughts please? 
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  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    @fluvia Not something I have tried but I wonder if you will get alot of dieback where they meet?
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • fluviafluvia Posts: 48
    @GardenerSuze thanks, probably not a common scenario then. Will be an experiment I suppose or will relocate it later. 
  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340
    Pittosporum do make very good hedging plants and respond well to pruning.
    Some use them instead of box due to the problem with box blight

    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
  • GardenerSuzeGardenerSuze Posts: 5,692
    edited August 2022
    @fluvia It is something I have never considered but a good idea it would seem and one I will remember for future reference. Always good to find a box alternative.
    I have worked as a Gardener for 24 years. My latest garden is a new build garden on heavy clay.
  • fluviafluvia Posts: 48
    Thanks Pete, a bit more reassuring. Will keep them fair distance on planting and see how much growth they put on. 
  • WAMSWAMS Posts: 1,960
    It's quite a common sight in my home country (New Zealand)
  • LG_LG_ Posts: 4,360
    Quite a high proportion of the hedges in the 'Thinking outside the box' garden at Wisley are various Pittosporum cultivars.


    'If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need.'
    - Cicero
  • KeenOnGreenKeenOnGreen Posts: 1,831
    We are trying to create one from different cultivars @fluvia We made the mistake of planting some dwarf cultivars as part of the hedge (Midget and Golf Ball), which may never get large or wide enough to connect with the ones next to them. We also left too much space between the plants.

    You can definitely create a hedge with Pittosporum, but choosing the right cultivars, and getting the spacing correct is the key. We found Silver Queen to the weakest of the cultivars that we planted, it is very thin and sparse, but that may be our conditions (dry, clay, partially shaded by a nearby tree). 

    There are more dense cultivars (Green Star, Wrinkled Blue, Garnetti), that might work better. If you only want a very low hedge of about 2ft, then Golf Ball and Midget have wonderful, dense foliage.

  • fluviafluvia Posts: 48
    These are very dense with new buds every month. 




    But don't look beautiful from a distance. I thought these can grow into single specimen trees so was thinking to replant them out in front lawn once the drought ends. 



  • Pete.8Pete.8 Posts: 11,340

    I've got Silver Queen in my garden.
    It's been there for over 20 years. I've pruned it twice in that time and could do with a tidy up again


    Billericay - Essex

    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.
    Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.
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