Ivory Sheen Kohuhu

Ivory Sheen Kohuhu (Pittosporum tenuifolium 'Ivory Sheen') is the fine textured screen for gardeners who want privacy without a heavy green wall. It reaches about 3m tall and 2m wide, carrying small pale green leaves with a creamy cast on new growth, held on slender dark stems that give the plant a light, shimmering look. It clips well, takes salt and wind, and keeps its foliage down the trunk.

Why you'll love it

• Screening at a useful height. About 3m by 2m covers a fence line and an upstairs sightline without becoming a tree you have to manage.
• Light, fine foliage. The small leaves and pale new growth reflect light, so a hedge of it brightens a shaded boundary instead of darkening it.
• Coastal and exposed sites. Salt and wind tolerant, which makes it a dependable screen for a beachside or hilltop block.
• Clips into anything. Dense branching takes a formal hedge face, a rounded shape or a lifted standard equally well, and the roots are non-invasive, so a boundary run can sit close to paths and paving.

Where it works best

Hedging and screening. Plant 1m apart in a single row for a dense screen. Tighter spacing does not close the gap any faster and makes watering and feeding harder.

Coastal gardens and windbreaks. On an exposed block, a staggered double row at 1m spacing filters wind rather than blocking it, which keeps a screen intact in a gale.

Feature and topiary. A single plant shapes cleanly, so larger stock suits a clipped column or a matched pair at an entry.

Growing Ivory Sheen Kohuhu in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun gives the densest growth and brightest new foliage; part shade works, but the screen stays looser. It suits cool temperate, warm temperate, subtropical and Mediterranean gardens and is frost hardy once established. In humid subtropical summers, keep airflow around the plants.

Soil. Any reasonable soil that drains. Heavy clay is the main limitation, so plant on a raised mound with compost worked through, and mulch 75mm deep, clear of the trunk.

Water and feed. Deep soak twice a week through the first summer, then taper off. After two seasons it is genuinely drought tolerant. A controlled release fertiliser in early spring and late summer keeps the foliage full.

Pruning. Tip prune from planting to build density early, then trim after the spring flush and again in late summer to hold a hedge face. Avoid cutting into bare wood, because pittosporums reshoot slowly from old timber.

What to expect when it arrives

It is grown in four sizes: 140mm in packs of ten, 200mm in packs of six, 250mm in packs of three and single 400mm plants, with the larger lines moving onto backorder at busy times. The 140mm pack is the value choice for a long boundary, since ten plants at 1m spacing cover ten metres. The 400mm stock arrives already branched.

Smaller sizes arrive as bushy young plants well under screening height, and typically take two to three seasons to close a boundary. Some leaf drop after transit is normal. Plants travel upright and are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost, and every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• The complete pittosporum care guide
• Compare screening plants from 2m to 4m
• Browse the full hedging and screening range
• Salt tolerant plants for coastal boundaries

Common questions

How far apart should I plant it for a hedge?

One metre apart in a single row. At that spacing the plants meet and read as a solid screen within two to three seasons, with no thin band along the bottom.

How fast does it grow?

In a warm garden with water and feed, expect around 40 to 60cm of height a year once the roots are away. Slower in the first year and in cold districts.

Can I keep it lower than 3m?

Yes. Two trims a year hold it comfortably at 1.5m to 2m, and because it branches densely it stays furnished at the base rather than lifting into bare stems.