> On 1/7/2010 1:07 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
> >> On 1/6/2010 11:18 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:
> >>> At the back of my property , near a block wall giving on an alley, I
> >>> had some pittosporum put in, oh maybe 6-7 years ago? They have grown
> >>> very , very tall - maybe over 20 feet -- practically reaching the
> >>> phone/elec lines. Will this plant l take judicious topping, so it
> >>> will become bushier -- more of a privacy screen -- instead of tall &
> >>> skinny?
> >>> The landscaper's chart reads "pittosporum crassifolia", but when I
> >>> looked it up, it said only 8-10 ft. tall, but this is much more, so I
> >>> am somewhat confused.
> >>> In front of the pittosporum (away from brick wall, toward house)
> >>> there is Erica, which has also grown much taller than it's "supposed"
> >>> to. ??
> >>> This is So. Calif coastal.
> >>> TIA
> >>> Persephone
> >> I have P. tobira on the side of my house. It will grow above the eaves.
> >> About every 4-5 years, I renovate them by cutting them to about 2-3
> >> feet. Even the bare branches will develop new shoots.
> >> I cut mine in the spring. Because we do get some nighttime frosts, I
> >> don't want to promote new, tender growth in the winter. As soon as I
> >> have finished cutting, I give each plant a generous dose of
> >> high-nitrogen fertilizer to push the new shoots.
> >> --
> >> David E. Ross
> >> Climate: California Mediterranean
> >> Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
> >> influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
> >> Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
> > OK David, thanks for the info. In my area (SM beach) we don't
> > get frosts, so I'd feel safe cutting back now. I asked at Armstrong
> > and the employee said don't worry if the book says 8-10 feet
> > and yours is more; there's too much variation.
> > A little surprised about high-nitrogen right after cuttting rather
> > than
> > wait till "spring". Does this mean the plant is really not "dormant"
> > at all?
> > I would want to upset it if it was "resting" -- or DO they "rest"?
> Yes, broadleaf evergreens do have a dormant period in the winter even if
> they don't lose their leaves. I feed right away because I cut my
> Pittosporum in the spring. If you cut now, wait until early March
> before feeding.
OK, Tx.
> > Any info on Erica?
> I have E. canaliculata 'Boscaweniana', a heath commonly called
> "Christmas heather" although it's not a true heather. I planted it
> because my daughter is named Heather, but true heathers will not grow
> well in Mediterranean climates.
Mine is E. canaliculata Rosea.
> It prefers a lean soil (i.e., low in nutrients); the soil should be
> acidic and always somewhat moist but never wet. Apparently it does not
> compete well with other shrubs or trees. I had one in front near where
> the property line meets the public sidewalk, very near to my neighbor's
> Italian cypress. My Erica struggled for years. It always bloomed and
> put out new growth, but it never reached its potential of growing 18 ft
> high and 10-12 ft wide. Actually, it never got more than 4 ft high and
> 3 ft wide after some 20 years.
Whereas my Erica is almost as tall as the Pittosporum, despite
years of benign neglect. I need to make it a little LESS bushy,
as it is pushing into the lemon tree. I will be careful about
pruning per your recommendation to consult Sunset.
> I replaced it with the same variety but in the center of my front lawn.
> There, it competes only with ground cover -- pink clover (Persicaria
> capitata). After only two years, the 1 gallon plant is now slightly
> over 5 ft tall and still growing. It's also in full bloom right now.
> Sunset says to shear away spent flowers. However, you should not cut a
> branch below the last green foliage. As with some other plants
> (especially some conifers and plants in the mint and salvia family), a
> bare branch will die.
> I strongly recommend that, if you garden west of the Rocky Mountains,
> you really need Sunset's Western Garden Book, from which I got some of
> the above information.
I do have it; would help if I'd consult it! Thanks for heads-up
Persephone
> --
> David E. Ross
> Climate: California Mediterranean
> Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
> influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
> Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
On 1/7/2010 7:57 PM, Higgs Boson wrote [in part]:
> On Jan 7, 3:06 pm, I previously wrote [also in part]:
>>
>> I have E. canaliculata 'Boscaweniana', a heath commonly called
>> "Christmas heather" although it's not a true heather. I planted it
>> because my daughter is named Heather, but true heathers will not grow
>> well in Mediterranean climates.
>
> Mine is E. canaliculata Rosea.
E. canaliculata 'Rosea' is just an alternative name for E. canaliculata
'Boscaweniana'. They're really the same.
--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
XML site map
> >> On 1/6/2010 11:18 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:
> >>> At the back of my property , near a block wall giving on an alley, I
> >>> had some pittosporum put in, oh maybe 6-7 years ago? They have grown
> >>> very , very tall - maybe over 20 feet -- practically reaching the
> >>> phone/elec lines. Will this plant l take judicious topping, so it
> >>> will become bushier -- more of a privacy screen -- instead of tall &
> >>> skinny?
> >>> The landscaper's chart reads "pittosporum crassifolia", but when I
> >>> looked it up, it said only 8-10 ft. tall, but this is much more, so I
> >>> am somewhat confused.
> >>> In front of the pittosporum (away from brick wall, toward house)
> >>> there is Erica, which has also grown much taller than it's "supposed"
> >>> to. ??
> >>> This is So. Calif coastal.
> >>> TIA
> >>> Persephone
> >> I have P. tobira on the side of my house. It will grow above the eaves.
> >> About every 4-5 years, I renovate them by cutting them to about 2-3
> >> feet. Even the bare branches will develop new shoots.
> >> I cut mine in the spring. Because we do get some nighttime frosts, I
> >> don't want to promote new, tender growth in the winter. As soon as I
> >> have finished cutting, I give each plant a generous dose of
> >> high-nitrogen fertilizer to push the new shoots.
> >> --
> >> David E. Ross
> >> Climate: California Mediterranean
> >> Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
> >> influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
> >> Gardening diary at <http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary>
> > OK David, thanks for the info. In my area (SM beach) we don't
> > get frosts, so I'd feel safe cutting back now. I asked at Armstrong
> > and the employee said don't worry if the book says 8-10 feet
> > and yours is more; there's too much variation.
> > A little surprised about high-nitrogen right after cuttting rather
> > than
> > wait till "spring". Does this mean the plant is really not "dormant"
> > at all?
> > I would want to upset it if it was "resting" -- or DO they "rest"?
> Yes, broadleaf evergreens do have a dormant period in the winter even if
> they don't lose their leaves. I feed right away because I cut my
> Pittosporum in the spring. If you cut now, wait until early March
> before feeding.