The Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum, otherwise known as the Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ or Jacob’s Ladder ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Bluebells ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Creeping Jacob’s Ladder ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Great Valerian ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Sweet Root ‘Stairway to Heaven’, Plant Patent #15,187, is a rather well known perennial plant by gardening enthusiasts around the world.
Best known for its average maintenance and moderate growth, this perennial will likely liven up your house (or garden) with its variegated colored leaves. But, only if you learn how to take proper care of it for it to thrive.
Fortunately, this is exactly what we’ll cover in this Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum Care Guide. So let’s dive in.
In order to take proper care of your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum you’ll need to keep in mind the following guidelines:
- Water: The Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum demands that you keep the soil moist by watering weekly. Increase the frequency in extreme heat.
- Light: Keep your Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ in an environment where it can receive partial to full sun on a daily basis.
- Soil: Make sure to keep the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum in soil with moist but well-draining properties, so ideally, one that is made of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
That’s it – sunlight, water and soil! The basic 3 fundamentals for all plant care, and with the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum this is no exception. With these three elements, your leafy friend will live healthy and happy.
Scientific / Botanical Aspects
In botanical terms, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum belongs to the Polemoniaceae family, the genus Polemonium and the species Reptans, hence its scientific (or botanical) name Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’.
As with other Polemonium’s, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is an evergreen plant, which means it will be present year round in your garden.
Growing Region
The Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is a plant native to the Northern America.
As a rule of thumb, we recommend to always keep in mind your plants’ native region and environment, since these are the conditions that your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is most accustomed to, thus where it can most favorably.
With this in mind, the Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ will be most used to regions where the plant hardiness level falls between 3a, 3b, 4b, 4a, 5b, 5a, 6b, 6a, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b and the ideal climate zone is between 1, 1A, 1B, 2, 2A, 2B, 3, 3A, 3B, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17.
Growth and Size
Growth
In terms of size and growth, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is a relatively moderate grower, which makes things somewhat easy for any plant enthusiast.
Size
But what exactly does this mean for your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum? How large a pot should you consider, how tall, how wide can it get? Let’s jump in…
The Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ can grow up to 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) and 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm) in 1′ – 2′ (30cm – 60cm).
These dimensions make the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum a relatively medium perennial compared to others, so it’s best to keep this fact in mind since it will affect where you want to keep yours at home.
Also, expect it to grow in a wonderful rounded shape, which is something worthwhile to remember when making your garden landscape plans.
This is why experts recommend keeping an area of approximately 12″ – 18″ (30cm – 45cm) free so the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum can spread to its best extent.
Water
In terms of watering, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is a fairly simple plant to take care of.
This is mostly because it has a straightforward watering schedule and somewhat regular watering needs.
Specifically, most experts agree that the Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ demands that you keep the soil moist by watering weekly. Increase the frequency in extreme heat.
Which is why it is considered a plant with relatively average needs in terms of water.
Watering
As a rule of thumb, you should remember to keep your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum in soil with moist but well-draining characteristics, as these will guarantee the right conditions for your plant to grow and thrive.
When you consider this, this is why you should aim to choose soil that has good drainage properties to keep the right moisture levels at all times.
In our experience, the famous ‘thumb’ or ‘finger’ test is what works best for the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum since with it, you will be able to give it the right amount of water, every time – regardless of the environment or placement where you do decide to keep it.
Soil Mix
As mentioned earlier, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum prefers to have soil with good drainage properties at all times, reason why you need to make the soil mix out of clay, loam, chalk, and sand.
This is why most experts agree that the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum requires soil with loam (silt), which will give you the right conditions it needs.
In addition to this, expert gardeners recommend having preferably alkaline, acid or neutral soil.
Light and Exposure
In terms of light & exposure, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum requires partial to full sun in order for it to thrive under the right conditions.
Most experts agree that this perennial will do well as long as you keep it in partial to full sun, and it will be able to grow properly.
Specifically, we recommend that you place your Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ in little to partial shade (only 2-6 hours of direct sunlight a day), to full and direct sun (more 6 hours of direct sunlight per day).
Season
Being an evergreen plant, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum will be present year round in your garden.
But, you can expect it to have its ‘prime-time’ during the spring (mid, late), and during the summer (early).
Flowers
You can expect your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum to flower around the spring and in the summer months from April to June (spring), and from July to September (summer).
The Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum produces some beautiful white, or blue and white flowers around this time of year.
Foliage
The leaves from the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum have a beautiful variegated color during most of the year.
In particular, they have a compound (pinnately, bipinnately, palmately) arrangement with a alternate organization in its leaves.
You can expect the leaves from your Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ to be around (1-3 inches) in size.
Attracts, Tolerance and Resistance
The Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum is well known for its tolerance to animals like deer, so don’t worry if any of these come along, your Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ will be fine.
Garden
How should you then organize your garden to include your new Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum? Here are some recommendations by expert gardeners.
Most Pittosporum Tobira ‘Turner’S Variegated Dwarf’ owners agree that this perennial will look great in most asian/zen gardens of all types.
Other owners consider that they complement well most gardens of informal and cottage, gravel and rock garden, and in prairie and meadow styles.
In particular, the Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum’s best location within your garden is in beds and borders, and in patio and containers, others use it for landscaping in a poolside, hedge, ground cover, firescaping/fire wise, container, coastal exposure, border, or a urban garden.
Companion Plants
Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum’s do well with some other plants beside it. One good companion plant is the Rosa x ‘Radyod’, which will pair up nicely with your leafy friend.
Others consider that a nice Agapanthus africanus will work well too, so choose whichever you find works best for you!
Conclusion
Even though we covered a lot of care information for your Turner’s Pitt™ Pittosporum, remember the basics: sunlight, soil and water, as these should be enough to grow a healthy plant at home.
