My Pittosporum tobira 'Variegata' shrub is growing very slowly. I've notice others around the neighborhood that are very tall, but mine have remained small.
Here's the story that might help. When I planted them I cut them back hoping they would get bushy. However, it seems to have dwafed them. Could that be? I recently put some 8-2-4 on them and they have seemed to flush out a little. But I would like to increase the growth rate.
Pittosporum tobira 'Variegata' shrub growing very slowly.
When did you plant them? If they were planted in the last year or maybe even two, they may not have hit their growth spurt yet. Many shrubs follow the same rule as perennials "first year they sleep, second year they creep, 3rd year they leap" so if yours hasn't reached the "leap" year yet then you may just need to be patient. Also, I don't have experience with this particular plant, but sometimes variegated versions will be less vigorous and a little slower growing than their all green counterparts, so that might make the growth a little slower as well.
They have been there since 2002 or so. I've heard that phrase before though, LOL!!! I've seen the same plant about a stary high in the neighboorhood. So it just didn't make since to me. Maybe, the soil it's growing in or something.
I don't know too much about the plant besides that I had one at my old house that looked like it had been around for a while, and I lived there for 3.5 yrs and it was barely 5 ft tall and didn't seem like it was going to get significantly taller than that, maybe someday it would hit 8-10 ft but I really don't think it would have got much taller than that. I notice that there's a wide range of heights listed in Plant Files, again since I'm not that familiar with the plant I'm not sure why the range is that big, but it could be that there's a lot of variability in its size, so yours may never get huge, or it may take them many years to get to full size. Hopefully someone else will know more about them than I do!
Ecrane, thanks for your help.
I bought some material to put some drip irrigation to them. Hopefully, this will help improve the growth rate.
You MAY have a cultivar of P. tobira variegata called "Creme de menthe" which grows much slower and only gets about 24" tall.
Thanks Jasper, I was hoping not to have that one. Maybe, it is though.
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