"curiosity" [email protected] wrote in message
news
On Sat, 07 Aug 2004 18:46:35 +0100, Sacha

wrote:

On 7/8/04 3:46 pm, in article
,
"curiosity" [email protected] wrote:

On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 13:51:53 +0100, "Spider"

wrote:

snip

Hi Curiosity,
It looks very like a Pittosporum to me, possibly tenuifolium sp.
I don't know the ideal pruning time, sorry. It does have *tiny*
flowers,
but they're not really showy in most Pittosporums. (P. tobira
has good,
scented flowers, but is borderline hardy).
Perhaps someone else know when to prune Pittosporum?
Spider

many thanks Spider, I think you've got it. Oddly enough I had a
pittosporum
in
my last garden and now you mention it there is a striking family
resemblance.
That was variegated and much smaller leaf but the same hearty
untroubled
(slightly boring) plant.

Careful. That leaf looks much too big to be a Pittosporum -
Magnolia is
more likely, even if not certain. Do leave it one full year before
doing
any attacking.

you've got me worried now, it is significantly larger than the
pittosporum I
knew - on the other hand my 'leaf' picture is a close-up so the size
may be
misperceived.

Moral: Include a ruler in a picture in which real size is
significant.

I found this picture of P.tenuifolium


http://www.ccc.govt.nz/parks/TheEnvi...enuifolium.asp

It's the crinklyness of the leaves which I recognise here. Doesn't
magnolia
have quite a flat leaf?

Franz

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 08:56:25 +0100, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:


"curiosity" [email protected] wrote in message
.. .
On Sat, 7 Aug 2004 13:51:53 +0100, "Spider"
wrote:

Hi Curiosity,
It looks very like a Pittosporum to me, possibly tenuifolium sp.
I don't know the ideal pruning time, sorry. It does have *tiny* flowers,
but they're not really showy in most Pittosporums. (P. tobira has good,
scented flowers, but is borderline hardy).
Perhaps someone else know when to prune Pittosporum?
Spider

many thanks Spider, I think you've got it. Oddly enough I had a
pittosporum in
my last garden and now you mention it there is a striking family
resemblance.
That was variegated and much smaller leaf but the same hearty untroubled
(slightly boring) plant.

Next time you see a pitto in flower go near it at night, nearly all are
highly scented, and of course they make great hedging plants! However I am
see a few more posts than I was and I note several people don't think its a
pitto at all, so best not treat it to a hair cut yet :~)

no, thank you Charlie, I've become blissfully patient about this. I'm quite
excited by the prospect of them being magnolia (there are 2).

On 8/8/04 22:02, in article ,
"curiosity" [email protected] wrote:

On Sun, 8 Aug 2004 08:56:25 +0100, "Charlie Pridham"
wrote:

snip

Next time you see a pitto in flower go near it at night, nearly all are
highly scented, and of course they make great hedging plants! However I am
see a few more posts than I was and I note several people don't think its a
pitto at all, so best not treat it to a hair cut yet :~)

no, thank you Charlie, I've become blissfully patient about this. I'm quite
excited by the prospect of them being magnolia (there are 2).

There you are! First lesson in gardening - patience; says she who was born
with none at all! If you have two of these lovely shrubs you're a lucky
gardener - sit tight!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

Sacha said ".....There you are! First lesson in gardening - patience; says
she who was born with none at all! If you have two of these lovely shrubs
you're a lucky gardener - sit tight.."

Reminds me of the old verse
Patience is a virtue posses it if you can,
It's never found in Woman
and seldom in a man.

--
David Hill
Abacus nurseries
www.abacus-nurseries.co.uk

On 9/8/04 10:15 am, in article , "David
Hill" wrote:

Sacha said ".....There you are! First lesson in gardening - patience; says
she who was born with none at all! If you have two of these lovely shrubs
you're a lucky gardener - sit tight.."

Reminds me of the old verse
Patience is a virtue posses it if you can,
It's never found in Woman
and seldom in a man.

Huh! Think of all those patient women who walk straight up to the very
thing their man swears has disappeared or otherwise become invisible!
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.co.uk
South Devon
(remove the weeds to email me)

apologies if this is becoming a bore but I was poking around wondering if there
might be a name-tag at the bottom of the plant - it turns out not but I did
notice that for what seems like a modestly-sized shrub, the main stem is
extremely stout (2-3ins dia.) with lesser but not-insignificant other stems also
emerging at ground level - similar to the way a hazel grows. Given that the
plant, as I've mentioned, is roughly spheroid and about 5 feet dia and that its
base structure is vastly stouter than the similar volume but slenderly built
pittosporum I remember, might this be further reinforcement for the magnolia
theory?

curiosity muttered:

Full marks to Sacha and others who picked magnolia stellata!
The previous owner has finally forwarded me some details of some of the plants
-
amongst others, these were named and you were absolutely right.

She suggests pruning for shape (I don't know how old these are but they've
been
kept quite small for a plant that seemingly can grow to10 feet). Does this
require cutting back older growth to encourage new or can it just be
approached
as a short back and sides?

I believe that you prune internal crossing shoots down to an outward-facing
bud for more light to penetrate and more flowers...

Full marks to Sacha and others who picked magnolia stellata!
The previous owner has finally forwarded me some details of some of the plants -
amongst others, these were named and you were absolutely right.

She suggests pruning for shape (I don't know how old these are but they've been
kept quite small for a plant that seemingly can grow to10 feet). Does this
require cutting back older growth to encourage new or can it just be approached
as a short back and sides?

On Fri, 13 Aug 2004 07:54:49 +0100, Magwitch wrote:

curiosity muttered:

Full marks to Sacha and others who picked magnolia stellata!
The previous owner has finally forwarded me some details of some of the plants
-
amongst others, these were named and you were absolutely right.

She suggests pruning for shape (I don't know how old these are but they've
been
kept quite small for a plant that seemingly can grow to10 feet). Does this
require cutting back older growth to encourage new or can it just be
approached
as a short back and sides?

I believe that you prune internal crossing shoots down to an outward-facing
bud for more light to penetrate and more flowers...

many thanks