Repotting Pittosporum
Part of good potted plant maintenance is knowing when it's time to repot.
Out in my Winter House courtyard is a handsome potted Pittosporum - a dense, low-maintenance evergreen with delicate bold green foliage. The specimen had been in the same pot for quite some time and was in need of a more spacious container and fresh nutrients. My head gardener, Ryan McCallister, selected a pot that was slightly larger than its original vessel with good drainage and went to work.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
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- Pittosporum is a tough evergreen tree in the family Pittosporaceae. It is sometimes also known as sweet pittosporum, native daphne, Australian cheesewood, Victorian box or mock orange.
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- One of the many tasks on our long garden “to do” list is to repot this Pittosporum. The plant is top-heavy and may fall over easily, so it is important to re-home it before the pot and the plant are damaged.
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- The replacement pot is about 30-percent larger. When selecting the next size, it is important not to get a pot that’s too big. Potting soil holds on to excess water, and the more soil that’s in the pot, the more water will remain – that’s good for moisture-loving plants, but not for those that prefer to be well-drained.
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- And always make sure there are drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. I prefer those with at least one drainage hole. It allows extra water to escape, which prevents the soil from becoming waterlogged. Drainage holes also help reduce salt buildup in the soil, since water flowing out of the hole will take the extra salt with it.
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- Ryan removes some of the soil from the top of the root ball.
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- He uses a Hori Hori to carefully go around the inside edge of the pot to loosen the root ball.
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- This is a Hori Hori knife. It is a Japanese gardening tool with a heavy, serrated steel blade that can be used for a variety of jobs, such as digging, cutting, weeding, planting, splitting, and transplanting. It’s one of my favorite most essential gardening tools.
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- Next, the pot and plant are carefully turned sideways. Notice, Ryan works on a tarp to collect any soil or debris. This makes the entire job much easier to clean up afterward.
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- Ryan holds the plant gently by the center stem and pulls the plant from its current vessel until it slides out completely.
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- The Pittosporum is now out of its pot and ready to place into its new, larger container.
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- Shards of broken pots are saved and used to cover the drainage holes of the new vessel and prevent soil from spilling out when the plant is watered.
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- Ryan pours a fresh layer of suitable potting mix into the pot. We use Scotts Miracle-Gro Potting Mix that can be used for indoor and outdoor container plants. It is designed to help plants thrive by including lava rock, which is a porous and lightweight material that provides the necessary drainage and support growth.
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- The root ball is scarified to stimulate growth, put in its new container and backfilled. Note how much more balanced the plant looks in its new pot.
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- Make sure the plant is centered and that its best side faces out.
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- Here, Ryan gives the Pittosporum a good drink of water. Pittosporums are not particularly thirsty plants, but do need regular watering to establish themselves and look full.
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- Pittosporums prefer full sun, but will also grow in part shade. In my courtyard, this plant gets six hours or more of direct sunlight.
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- Pittosporum has woody stems that average about eight to 12 inches in length branched with several laterals and filled with densely compacted green leaves.
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- Other larger potted plants in this courtyard near the Pittosporum include this pair of ponytail palms flanking the gate. The ponytail palm is drought tolerant, slow-growing, and requires very little care. It’s also called Bottle palm, Elephant’s foot tree, Elephant’s foot palm, Flask lilia, and Nolina palm.
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- These potted Eugenias are in the upper courtyard. Eugenia topiary, or an Australian Brush Cherry tree, Syzygium paniculatum, is an evergreen tree or shrub with shiny dark green leaves native to Australia and New Zealand.
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- Pittosporums can be used as hedges, clipped into shapes, or grown in large containers. It looks great in its new pot here in my sunken courtyard where I can enjoy its greenery every day.
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