Pittosporum tenuifolium (or nigricans) has been employed as a resilient shorn or unshorn hedge for decades. The more contemporary cultivar ‘Marjorie Channon’ though, is grown more for variegated foliage. The light green leaves have creamy white borders and undulate margins. Mature unshorn shrubs get only eight feet high and broad, and are not quite as dense as the straight species. They may not be so useful as large hedging, but can provide striking contrast and depth to deep green foliage.
Tony Tomeo 
My sister (the Oklahoma city resident) and I were reminiscing about a trip we took to Italy over 20 years ago. We were on the phone, and on her side she was looking at at photos and asking “do you remember…” or “I had no idea…”
My side went something like “oh, in Assisi, we ate under this fabulous grape arbor, ” (she didn’t believe it until she found the picture), and “Villa D’Este. That’s where I fell in love with pittosporum. We ate by this hedge–I was almost in the hedge–and I came home and bought the one that’s in my living room. ”
Notice that I am not a foodie. I have no idea what I ate! Just that I ate by plants! And wow, what a great pittosporum hedge that was!
Karla
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In the ‘living room’?! If it can not tolerant the frost there, why is it even available? Is it popular as a houseplant? I know that Pittosporum tobira has a nice somewhat citrus like floral fragrance, and that other species are also nicely fragrant, but would not expect bloom inside.
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They are very popular here.
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It has its attributes. I suppose that most cultivars and species of Pittosporum do. Otherwise, they would not be as popular as they are. This particular species makes a nice hedge, and this particular cultivar makes an even better lower hedge.
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It’s a very common but welcome sight in San Francisco. The way my house is, it wouldn’t be my first choice for out front- but if I had need for a breezy hedge Marjorie Channon would be my only choice
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Pittosporum of all sorts are popular there, perhaps because of their resiliency to the cool and windy coastal climate of so much of San Francisco. Even in warmer and more sheltered neighborhoods, people tend to replicate what they see performing so well nearby. Pittosporum crassifolium and another similar species with a name that I can not remember were planted a very long time ago throughout Golden Gate Park, perhaps as hedges, but then naturalized. Pittosporum tobira used to be a popular foundation plant, like English holly, although, like English holly, it eventually gets a bit large if not maintained properly. The genus really performs well in that region. They perform well here as well, but differently.
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