Japanese pittosporum
Pittosporum tobira · Pittosporaceae
A dense evergreen with whorls of leathery, glossy, rounded leaves and clusters of creamy flowers that smell of orange blossom in spring. It tolerates salt and drought.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun to part shade
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around Japanese pittosporum
The planner designed this bed around Japanese pittosporum when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 m) English border in zone 8, part sun. It chose the other plants from the 639 that suit those conditions, and says below why Japanese pittosporum stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Japanese pittosporum × 1, white
- 2 Bloody cranesbill 'Max Frei' × 11, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 40, blue
- 4 Golden Japanese euonymus × 1, variegated leaves
- 5 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 6 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 7 Purple milkweed × 3, purple
- 8 Japanese forest grass × 3, green leaves
- 9 Creeping phlox × 8, pink
- 10 Coneflower 'Kim's Knee High' × 11, pink
- 11 Easter lily × 6, white
- 12 Daffodil × 15, orange
- 13 Grape hyacinth × 5, blue
Why this plant
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do golden Japanese euonymus and Japanese forest grass.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to brown-eyed Susan (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid April to mid May.
- In company. With creeping phlox, daffodil and grape hyacinth in mid April: 4 kinds at once.
- One of two evergreens. They are what the bed has to show from November to March.
Planned as an English border: 15 of the 16 groups (94%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Leadwort repeats along the bed to tie it together. The flowering is at its height in early August, with 5 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where Japanese pittosporum goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
A handsome, rounded, dark evergreen that takes sun or shade. The variegated form is smaller and lights up shade. It gets big; choose a dwarf for foundation planting.
- Evergreen hedges and screens in mild climates
- Seaside gardens
- Fragrance in spring
What to plant with Japanese pittosporum
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Indian hawthorn: in flower together for four weeks, from mid April; low enough (4 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Lilyturf: carries the spot on into mid September; spires rising out of its mound; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- African lily: takes over when it finishes, flowering from late June; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
Questions about Japanese pittosporum
Does Japanese pittosporum need sun or shade?
Japanese pittosporum grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day), part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun) and part shade (2 to 4 hours of sun, mostly in the morning).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does Japanese pittosporum grow in?
USDA zones 8 to 10. It is hardy to zone 8, which means it survives winter nights down to about 20 °F (−7 °C).
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does Japanese pittosporum flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid April to mid May. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 8 | Late March to late April |
|---|---|
| Zone 9 | Late March to mid April |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should Japanese pittosporum be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many Japanese pittosporum plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is Japanese pittosporum poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension and the ASPCA.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like Japanese pittosporum?
Japanese pittosporum comes from China, Japan. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Mexican orange blossom: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 4 ft shorter, 20 in narrower.
- Large fothergilla: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in shorter, 8 in narrower.
- Mountain laurel: the same job in a bed and the same colour; 20 in shorter, flowers late May to late June.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat Japanese pittosporum?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after Japanese pittosporum?
Japanese pittosporum is over by mid May. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Mountain laurel: from late May to late June, 8 ft tall.
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Elderberry 'Black Lace': from early June to late June, 6½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does Japanese pittosporum look like in winter?
Japanese pittosporum keeps its dark green and variegated leaves all winter, so it is one of the plants that hold a bed together from November to March, when the perennials have gone.
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Mid April to mid May; dense clusters; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, evergreen; dark green, variegated
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 8 to 10
- Light
- Full sun, part sun, part shade
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Pittosporaceae
- Comes from
- China, Japan
- Stands up to
- Salt
Checked against NC State Extension and ASPCA poison lists. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.