Moving a Pittosporum

I'm looking at buying some 1.8m high pittosporum plants off ebay but I just wanted to check first that they will be ok after I transfer them from their pots into the ground given the mature size of them?

I don't want to pay $$ for them and have them die because they don't do well being moved at such a large size.

Would love any opinions

They transplant no worries at all. Only thing to worry about is staking them properly as they are a bit floppy when young and can fall over in the wind. Just pop two stakes outside of the hole (not to damage roots) and make a loop out of stocking or soft material so the tree can still flop about in the loop but not fall over. Or you can just by smaller ones from a real nursery, they grow fast eg. a metre a year and you then can control the shape and density of the bush by pruning from a young age. 1m high plants are pretty cheap @ about $10-14 each.

Thanks for the info guys

@ those Yahoo answers!!

We did buy small ones Beatrix, but they haven't grown as well as we hoped and we are hosting Christmas this year and DH wanted the ugly house next door covered as best as possible before then. 1m for $10 soudns good though might get some of those for the other side

Well if thats case get the big ones and pop them in. Just stake them over spring till the windy days finish in early december.

haywgl , i am attracked by your title. You remember we start roughly at similiar time for our pittos?

There are some growth for mine, much obvious particularly after the continuous rain recently, but I think it still needs a lot more months to reach 1.8M. And the leaves still look more the same size as they were planted.

Will pittos leaves grow bigger when they mature?

$10 for 1.8M sounds a great bargain!

I have a purple hop bush which really look the same after 6 months Maybe i should post a pic and ask Fu.

Folks, no point in posting dubious sources of hort info. Just post here at homeone there are quite a few landscapers and of course that includes myself who will post an answer for you I really prefer you to source your info here. It's all the crap I read on other websites that spurs my passion to get you guys in touch with a decent standard of highly experienced and horticulturally educated feedback

You won't know what you have there till it is in your hot hands get em out of that pot and take a look at the roots. Is there disease along with them? All reasons to buy from accredited nurseries.

If you do get them or have already, prep the soil. You know what to do there if you read my stuff here.

Cut them back by one third. YES! Cut them back. In 3 or 4 months they will be way ahead of where they'd be if you were to leave them. Cut the roots back too. Cut with a timber saw or pruning saw. Cut into a cube shape. Molasses and Seasol every 2 weeks. Maybe even some of the new " osmocote plus organics" slow release after they've been planted.

I moved a few here as some had died and I needed to fill "that" gap before worrying about others of lesser importance. Some made it but 2 died. I doubt I had enough good water for them as I used grey water at the time. The ones that survived are 2.4 meters tall and are a perfect formal hedge along the shared driveway. They are simple to look after, you should see new shoots in around 5 weeks from my experience.

Hey Nott

Some of mine have had fair bit of growth - but others none at all I can get 10 x 1.8m ones for $300 so about $30 each not $!0 - but better price than I have seen elsewhere

I moved one green pillar and it got a bit limp, but recovered after a month or two. I also moved a limelight (about 1m tall) just before winter and it's sick. Bits keep dying and it's very unhappy. I think it's not going to make it.

Use lots of seasol each week after transplanting them, cut the foliage back before moving them or at least before replanting them. That way they have less leaves to get water into after we go and tamper with their roots and wreck their ability to absorb water easy for a few months.