According to the date stamp on the oldest photos, this plant was acquired in Nov. 2024. Don't remember where I got this plant or what I paid for it, although the nursery pot shows $10.50, so that's probably the acquisition cost. I do remember picking-up this plant & seeing the sharp 90 degree angle of the branch & thinking this might be a good candidate.
After I got it home & was able to REALLY look at the plant, I discovered that it was actually 2 plants seemingly "welded" together. This happens in nature, but looking back from the perspective of time, I think it was more likely a grafting, gone awry.
With hardly no above-ground pruning necessary, he took well to root pruning & after I potted him in a training pot, he took center stage because he actually LOOKED sorta like a real Bonsai.
From there, his road was all downhill..drooping leaves, yellowing & dying leaves..tried changing his soil & began researching different types of mixes..up until this time, I had just used commercial potting soil. Re-re-potted & the plant continued to struggle..
After daily observation & head-scratching & watching this plant die, I decided we had nothing to lose..the conclusion that I came to, was that the old tree, which was surrounding the younger, was dying & taking his offspring with him..I gambled that (what I considered) major surgery might save the tree..so I used needle-point shears & a razor knife & cut-away the old trunk surrounding the inner-trunk, which already had fully developed bark...it worked!!
He immediately began showing signs of recovery..standing-up straight, color came back into the leaves, he regrew a new canopy. He has regained his place on my patio wall.
Nov 1, 2025
Today marks one year since I acquired the Pittosporum, so today is as good as any, I declare today his birthday...Happy Birthday!
Dec. 26, 2025
'the Pittosporum Endures' as a central tree in the collection. Re-potted in what I hope will be his permanent home, he seems happy, healthy & hopefully will remain so
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June 4, 2026
After a rocky start, last year, the Pittosporum has been rock-solid; one of the most stable & easiest specimens to care for & with his dark green leaves & offset posture, one of the most attractive. So I was taken aback when I happened to see what looked like "halo's" forming on the leaves (see photo).
The technical research pointed directly to a magnesium deficiency, which called for an application of Epsom Salts diluted in water. Then, I realized that it had been well over a year since he had been potted, in an older version of the potting mix I currently use..time to repot!
After de-pot, I used a chop stick to comb-out his roots & did some minor pruning..his root ball has developed an almost text-book round, thickened pancake shape with feeder roots fanning out & around, perfectly mimicking the shape of the his container.
Fresh potting mix w/ the newest addition to the formula..worm castings, making up prox.10% of the total & back into his "forever home". I'll continue to monitor daily until I am satisfied that the fresh potting mix will solve the problem..he had pretty much exhausted the food value of the old mix & I'm fairly confident this repot should solve the problem.
July 7, 2026
Apparently, the re-pot did the trick..the Pittosporum has responded by sprouting & growing a whole new canopy, on top of the old leaves.
I remembered that he did the same thing just about a year ago, when the tree had fewer, smaller brachts (sets of leaves).
This must be something that this cultivar is meant to do annually.
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July 2026
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