Pittosporum spp.

A versatile, hardy shrub you'll find in most of our gardens. Its beautiful glossy leaves and fragrant white spring flowers make it equally effective as a hedge or pruned into topiary. The compact nano variety is perfect for low borders and container planting.

The Pittosporum genus includes several species essential to Mediterranean gardens. Pittosporum tobira is the most common, with dense dark glossy whorled leaves and clusters of intensely fragrant orange-blossom-scented cream flowers in late spring through early summer — May to June. Pittosporum tenuifolium has small wavy-edged leaves on dark stems, valued as a green or variegated screening plant. Both species are evergreen with active growth in spring and autumn, slowing in summer heat. Hardy to -5°C (tobira slightly hardier), they tolerate drought, salt spray, urban pollution, poor soils and severe pruning — qualities that make them among the most reliable mass-planting shrubs in southern European cities.

Pittosporum tobira reaches 2–3 m as an unclipped shrub but is most commonly used as a clipped formal hedge 1–2 m tall, providing dense screening with the bonus of late-spring fragrance. The variegated 'Variegatum' form lights up shaded boundaries. Pittosporum tenuifolium reaches 3–6 m and serves as a fine-textured hedge or specimen tree; the dark-leaved 'Tom Thumb' and silver 'Silver Queen' are popular structural plants. Plant tobira near terraces, doorways and bedroom windows so the orange-blossom scent can be enjoyed in early summer. Both species combine beautifully with the silver-grey of Olea europaea, the dark of Cupressus and the warm tones of stone walls and terracotta paving.