Japanese Pittosporum or Mock Orange
Pittosporum tobira (PITTOSPORACEAE)
Planting and Growing Japanese Pittosporum
You’ll find everything you need to know to plant and grow Japanese pittosporum or mock orange in the accompanying table’s tabs:
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- Flowers, foliage, fruit, and seeds of Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- Growing conditions for Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- When and where to plant Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- How to plant Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- How to shape, prune and control growth of Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- Watering, fertilizing, and care of Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- Landscape uses of Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
- Pest and disease control for Japanese pittosporum or mock orange
Growing Japanese Pittosporum
Several cultivars of slow-growing, mounding, evergreen shrubs or small trees, to 18 ft. (5.5 m) tall, with shiny, green, yellow, variegated, leathery, oval leaves, to 4 in. (10 cm) long.
A dwarf cultivar, Pittosporum tobira ‘Wheeler’s Dwarf’, is commonly available.
Japanese Pittosporum Planting and Care Guide
Flowers and Fruit
Fragrant, bell-shaped, white flowers in spring, to 1/2‑in. (12‑mm) wide, in showy, mounded clusters, with attractive, round, orange, berrylike, seed-filled fruit in autumn.
Best Climates
U.S.D.A. Plant Hardiness Zones 7–10.
Soil Type and Fertility
Damp, well-drained soil. Fertility: Average. 6.5–8.0 pH. Salt tolerant.
Where and How to Plant
Full sun. Space 4–6 ft. (1.2–1.8 m) apart.
Proper Care
Easy. Keep damp; allow soil surface to dry between waterings until established. Drought tolerant. Mulch, zones 8–10. Prune in spring. Propagate by cuttings, grafting, seed.
About This Species
Good choice for backgrounds, beds, borders, edgings, hedges, paths in arid, Asian, cottage, small-space gardens and landscapes. Humidity tolerant. Aphid, scale susceptible.