Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball' (Kohuhu)
Hardy Evergreen Shrub with Perfect Spherical Form and Lustrous Apple-Green Foliage
Create perfect garden structure with Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball', an exceptional dwarf evergreen shrub that delivers outstanding year-round architectural presence through its naturally compact, spherical growth habit and beautiful apple-green foliage. This remarkable cultivar lives up to its evocative name by forming a perfectly rounded, dense ball of lustrous small leaves that requires minimal maintenance whilst providing consistent evergreen structure. The naturally neat habit and attractive foliage make it ideal for formal gardens, topiary effects, container displays, and low hedging where precise form and reliable performance are essential.
Key Features
- Plant Type: Hardy dwarf evergreen shrub
- Height: 1m
- Spread: 1m
- Flowering Period: May to June
- Flower Colour: Small creamy-white fragrant flowers (not the main feature)
- Foliage: Lustrous apple-green small oval leaves with distinctive wavy edges
- Hardiness: Hardy in the UK down to temperatures of -10 to -5 degrees Celcius (RHS hardiness rating H4)
- Growth Habit: Naturally compact, dense, slow-growing, perfectly spherical
Perfect Spherical Form
The outstanding feature of Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball' lies in its remarkable naturally spherical growth habit that creates perfect architectural structure without any pruning or training. The dense, compact branching pattern naturally forms an almost perfect ball shape that maintains its precise form year-round, making it invaluable for gardeners seeking instant topiary effects without the maintenance requirements of traditional clipped specimens. The naturally neat habit eliminates the need for regular trimming whilst providing the structured appearance that formal gardens demand.
Lustrous Apple-Green Foliage
The beautiful small oval leaves create a tapestry of lustrous apple-green colour that catches and reflects light beautifully throughout the year. Each leaf displays distinctive wavy edges that add subtle texture and visual interest to the dense foliage mass, whilst the glossy surface provides an attractive finish that maintains its fresh appearance across all seasons. The small leaf size contributes to the dense, compact appearance whilst creating a fine-textured effect that works beautifully in both formal and informal garden settings.
Outstanding Architectural Value
This exceptional cultivar provides unmatched structural value through its perfect spherical form and consistent evergreen presence, making it ideal for creating focal points, defining garden spaces, and adding architectural interest to plantings. The naturally compact habit and precise form make it perfect for formal garden schemes where geometric shapes and structured plantings are valued, whilst the attractive foliage ensures it works equally well in more relaxed garden settings where year-round structure is needed.
Exceptional Low Maintenance
The naturally perfect form and slow growth rate make 'Golf Ball' one of the most low-maintenance structural plants available, requiring virtually no pruning to maintain its attractive spherical shape. The dense branching structure naturally suppresses weed growth beneath the canopy, whilst the hardy nature and drought tolerance once established make it ideal for busy gardeners seeking maximum impact with minimal ongoing care requirements.
Versatile Garden Applications
The compact size and perfect form make this cultivar exceptionally versatile for a wide range of garden applications, from container gardening to formal landscaping. The naturally neat habit and attractive foliage create instant maturity and structure in new plantings, whilst the reliable performance ensures consistent results across different garden conditions and styles.
Growing Requirements
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Soil and Position: Thrives in well-drained soil conditions and tolerates a wide range of soil types from sandy to clay, providing drainage is adequate. Prefers full sun to partial shade where the apple-green foliage appears most vibrant. Excellent coastal tolerance makes it suitable for seaside gardens, whilst good urban pollution tolerance ensures reliable performance in city conditions.
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Light Requirements: Performs best in full sun to partial shade where the foliage maintains optimal colour and the natural compact form develops most effectively. Tolerates quite deep shade but may become slightly less dense and lose some of the precise spherical form in very shaded conditions.
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Soil Preferences: Adaptable to most soil types providing drainage is adequate. Tolerates both acid and alkaline conditions, making it suitable for a wide range of garden situations. Once established, demonstrates good drought tolerance, though benefits from watering during extended dry periods for optimal foliage condition.
Care and Maintenance
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Pruning Requirements: Minimal pruning required due to naturally perfect spherical form and slow growth rate. Light trimming in late spring if size control is needed, though the natural form is usually perfect without intervention. Avoid heavy pruning which can spoil the natural shape and may encourage uneven regrowth.
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Watering Requirements: Water regularly during establishment to develop a strong root system. Once established, demonstrates excellent drought tolerance though benefits from watering during extended dry periods to maintain optimal foliage condition. Container specimens require more regular watering, particularly during summer months.
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Fertilising Programme: Apply a balanced general-purpose fertiliser in spring to support healthy growth and maintain vibrant foliage colour. Avoid high-nitrogen fertilisers which may encourage loose growth that spoils the compact form. Benefits from annual mulching to conserve moisture and suppress weeds.
Design Applications
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Formal Gardens: Outstanding for creating instant topiary effects and geometric structure in formal garden schemes. Plant in rows for low hedging, use as corner markers, or position strategically to create focal points and define garden spaces. The perfect spherical form eliminates the need for skilled topiary maintenance whilst providing the structured appearance that formal designs require.
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Container Plantings: Ideal for containers where it provides year-round structure and architectural interest. The compact size and slow growth rate make it perfect for long-term container cultivation, whilst the drought tolerance once established reduces watering requirements. Excellent for flanking doorways, defining patio areas, or creating portable garden structure.
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Mixed Borders: Provides excellent evergreen structure and architectural contrast in mixed plantings, particularly effective when used to anchor informal plantings or create rhythm and repetition in border schemes. The apple-green foliage provides neutral backdrop that complements both flowers and other foliage plants.
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Low Hedging: Perfect for creating low formal hedges that require minimal maintenance whilst providing year-round structure. Plant at 50-60cm intervals for hedge effect, though each plant maintains its individual spherical character whilst creating continuous low barrier or garden definition.
Seasonal Interest
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Spring Structure: Provides essential garden framework during spring when many plants are emerging, with the perfect spherical form and fresh apple-green foliage creating immediate impact and structure that anchors spring plantings whilst complementing emerging bulbs and early perennials.
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Summer Presence: Maintains consistent form and foliage quality throughout summer, providing reliable evergreen structure and attractive backdrop for summer flowering plants. The lustrous leaves continue to catch light beautifully, creating year-round visual interest that doesn't compete with seasonal flowers.
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Autumn Reliability: Provides essential structure and continuity whilst many other plants fade, with the evergreen foliage maintaining its attractive appearance and perfect form. The consistent presence becomes particularly valuable as deciduous plants lose their leaves and garden structure becomes more important.
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Winter Framework: Dense evergreen structure provides essential winter interest and garden framework, with the perfect spherical form creating dramatic silhouettes against winter skies whilst the lustrous foliage maintains its attractive appearance throughout the dormant season.
Hardiness and Reliability
Hardy in most UK locations with good cold tolerance and dependable garden performance. Young plants benefit from protection during severe winters, particularly from cold winds, after which established specimens demonstrate excellent resilience and consistent form. The reliable growth habit ensures gardeners can depend upon consistent structural displays year after year.
Mature Size Expectations
Typically reaches 60-80cm in both height and spread, developing into a perfect sphere with dense branching structure. The slow growth rate allows for excellent garden planning whilst ensuring the plant maintains its precise form over many years. The mature size makes it suitable for smaller gardens and long-term container cultivation where space is at a premium.
Why Choose Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball'?
This exceptional dwarf evergreen shrub represents the perfect combination of natural architectural form, attractive foliage, and ultra-low maintenance requirements. The naturally perfect spherical shape creates instant topiary effects without any pruning skills or ongoing maintenance, whilst the lustrous apple-green foliage provides consistent year-round interest. The versatile size and reliable performance make it ideal for gardeners seeking premium structural plants with minimal care requirements.
Whether used for formal hedging, container displays, or architectural focal points, Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Golf Ball' offers exceptional value for gardeners seeking a plant that combines perfect natural form with reliable evergreen structure. This outstanding shrub provides the perfect balance of architectural presence, attractive foliage, and garden dependability that makes it an essential addition to any garden scheme seeking instant structure and year-round appeal.
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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