Pittosporum

With the 2017 Pantone colour of the year being "greenery" it's appropriate that as well as the flowers for each of our month's themes, we've got plenty about fillers and foliage. One of the main foliages that we included in our January theme was Pittosporum.

Pittosporum is a shrub that is hardy in most parts of the UK, and a lot of the varieties are fast growing. This one featured above is Pittosporum Tenuifolium, and can grow tree like if not pruned regularly, which is handy for growers and florists. It's best used in mid winter, when it is very hardy, and needs little conditioning. By March in most of the British Isles, it will be trying to grow new shoots, and so will flop when cut.

There are also variegated forms and purple leaved forms which are excellent for foliage backgrounds. This variety is Garnettii: