On 1/7/2010 1:07 PM, Higgs Boson wrote:
On Jan 7, 10:28 am, "David E. Ross" 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.

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.

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.

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.

--
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