Pittosporum Silver Queen
Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Silver Queen'
Overview
Pittosporum Silver Queen is a stunning evergreen shrub that brings year-round colour and texture to British gardens. With its distinctive silvery-grey foliage edged in creamy white, this versatile plant creates a beautiful backdrop for other garden plants whilst providing structure and interest throughout all seasons. Native to New Zealand, this hardy shrub has become a favourite amongst British gardeners for its reliability and elegant appearance.
Key Features
This attractive shrub produces small, oval leaves with wavy edges that emerge pale green before developing their characteristic silver-grey colouration with prominent white margins. The variegated foliage creates a soft, luminous effect that brightens darker corners of the garden. In late spring, mature plants may produce small, honey-scented purple flowers, though the main attraction remains the beautiful foliage.
Growing Conditions
Soil Requirements: Pittosporum Silver Queen thrives in well-drained soil and tolerates a wide range of soil types, from sandy to clay, provided drainage is adequate. It prefers neutral to slightly alkaline conditions but adapts well to most garden soils.
Light Preferences: This versatile shrub performs best in full sun to partial shade. Whilst it tolerates some shade, the variegation is most pronounced when grown in good light conditions.
Hardiness: Generally hardy in most of the UK (RHS hardiness rating H4), though young plants may benefit from protection during severe frosts. In colder regions, consider planting in a sheltered position or providing winter protection.
Size and Growth
Pittosporum Silver Queen typically reaches 2.5-4.0 metres in height with a similar spread when mature, though it can be easily maintained at a smaller size through regular pruning. The growth rate is moderate, making it an excellent choice for gardeners who want relatively quick results without overwhelming vigour.
Planting and Care
Planting: Plant in spring or autumn, spacing plants 1.5-2 metres apart for screening purposes or as individual specimens. Dig a hole twice the width of the root ball and ensure good drainage by incorporating grit or compost if your soil is heavy clay.
Watering: Water regularly during the first growing season to establish a strong root system. Once established, the plant is relatively drought-tolerant, though it benefits from watering during prolonged dry spells.
Feeding: Apply a balanced, slow-release fertiliser in spring. A mulch of well-rotted compost around the base will help retain moisture and provide gentle feeding throughout the growing season.
Pruning and Maintenance
Light pruning in late spring or early summer helps maintain shape and encourages dense growth. Pittosporum Silver Queen responds well to trimming and can be shaped into formal hedges or topiary if desired. Remove any dead, damaged, or crossing branches during the dormant season. The plant's naturally compact growth habit means minimal pruning is usually required.
Design Uses
Hedging: Creates an attractive formal or informal hedge with its dense growth and striking foliage colour.
Screening: Excellent for creating privacy screens or hiding unsightly views whilst adding year-round interest.
Mixed Borders: The silvery foliage provides a perfect foil for darker-leaved plants and enhances flower colours, particularly purples, pinks, and deep reds.
Containers: Well-suited to large containers for patios and terraces, where its architectural form can be appreciated up close.
Coastal Gardens: Tolerates salt spray, making it valuable for seaside locations.
Companion Planting
Pittosporum Silver Queen pairs beautifully with deep purple foliage plants such as Cotinus or purple-leaved Berberis. It also complements plants with burgundy flowers like Astilbe or Heuchera. For a fresh, modern look, combine with grasses such as Stipa or Miscanthus, or underplant with spring bulbs for seasonal colour.
Potential Issues
Generally pest and disease-free, though occasionally susceptible to aphids on young growth. In very wet conditions or heavy soils with poor drainage, root rot can occur. Ensure good drainage at planting time to prevent this issue.
Why Choose Pittosporum Silver Queen?
This reliable, low-maintenance shrub offers exceptional value with its year-round foliage interest, versatility in the garden, and ability to enhance other plantings. Whether used as a standalone specimen, hedge, or mixed border plant, Pittosporum Silver Queen brings a touch of elegance and sophistication to any British garden whilst requiring minimal care once established.
Buying Shrubs from Jacksons Nurseries
At Jacksons Nurseries we sell a variety of shrubs both evergreen and deciduous with a variety of flowering times throughout the year. At certain times of the year our shrubs you buy from us may not look like the images shown on our website when deciduous leaves have fallen, the shrub has finished flowering or has been trimmed back.
Some leaves on evergreen shrubs can be damaged in winter by frost or harsh winds but in spring new leaves will readily replace those damaged. This is quite normal on many evergreen varieties and is preferable to plants grown with excessive protection that show cold shock once planted out and establish less satisfactory initially.
Availability: Stock availability figures are provided as a guide only. There is a delay between orders being placed and the plants being gathered by our pulling team. During this time it may be possible for a member of the public to purchase these plants from our Garden Centre, while this is rare it is a possibility and we will notify you of any problems as soon as possible. This figure may also include plants that have not yet be flagged as unsaleable.
Pre-order: Pre-order times are given as a guide only and may vary dependent on the growing season. Orders containing Pre-ordered products will be shipped as a single order when all items become available. Large orders may be part shipped, please contact us on 01782 502741 or email sales@jacksonsnurseries.co.uk.
* Please Note: Shrubs in 20 litre pots and above might require a pallet delivery starting at £79.99 per pallet. Depending on the exact pot size and height it may be possible to get approximately 5 plants per pallet at no extra cost. The maximum height we can dispatch on a pallet is 2.0m, this includes the height of the pallet and pot.
Shrubs are deciduous or evergreen woody plants, and often provide fragrant flowers, berries and foliage. They are good for structural framework, and they can provide a wonderful shelter and food source for wildlife.
Planting and Conditions
Container grown shrubs can be grown at any time of year. It is a little known fact that shrubs planted in the autumn and winter will be easier to look after than those planted in the spring and summer, because they will have time to establish and become hardy in the cooler months.
Plant the shrub at the same depth as it was in its original pot. Planting too deeply can result in root and stem rot.
One of the biggest causes of death in new shrubs is drought stress, so keep it well watered until it’s established.
Make sure you loosen the soil prior to planting. Most shrubs are tolerant of most soil types as long as it is fairly well draining.
Most shrubs will grow happily in containers, but they will be much more demanding on feeding and watering than shrubs in the ground would be. They will also need potting on every couple of years so that they don’t suffocate or become stunted in their pot.
Aftercare and Pruning
Once established, shrubs generally do not require much water. However, at first they need careful, frequent watering and should not be left to dry out.
Shrubs in the ground are generally not demanding and in most cases, annual feeding with general purpose fertilizer will suffice. Shrubs in containers may need more feeding; usually from early spring until late summer.
Shrubs also benefit from mulching in order to supress weeds, conserve moisture and provide vital nutrients. Mulch also greatly improves soil conditions. Shrubs can be mulched in late winter, after fertiliser has been applied, but it can be mulched through autumn to late spring as long as the ground is damp.
All shrubs benefit from dead-heading once spent flowers become apparent. Rhododendrons and Lilac especially benefit from the removal of dead flowers.
Some shrubs may show signs of reverted growth or ‘sporting’. This is where random shoots of different leaves associated with the plant’s parentage begin to appear. Most commonly this is where plants with variegated leaves sprout pure green growths instead of variegated ones.
To control reversion, remove reverted shoots promptly to discourage them. Reverted shoots are usually much more vigorous than the variegated ones, and thus should be completely pruned out and cut back into wood containing variegated foliage.
Potential Issues
Although shrubs are usually very robust garden plants, they can sometimes start to decline with no apparent or obvious reason.
This will start with browning leaves, which could indicate plant stress due to lack of water or waterlogging, an establishment failure or, in the worst case scenario, honey fungus. Another cause of leaf browning is a high salt content in the soil. This could be a natural occurrence, especially if you live near the ocean, or it could be from over fertilisation.
To remedy a high salt content, cut back on fertiliser and step up your watering regime for the next few weeks. If you live by the ocean, this will be harder to remedy—but stepping up your watering will help to wash some of the salt away all the same.
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