I had it parked in my side garden in dense shade for at least 6 years, and it plodded along but never bloomed. Finally last spring I got it planted in my rear garden after I lost 8 old Pittosporum tenuifolium trees, (and removed the remaining 8 trees that formed a 40’ tall privacy screen), in a very unusual March windstorm. So this shade preferring understory tree went from full deep shade to full sun, yet didn’t seem to mind except for the sun-bleached older foliage. I noticed flower buds back in late February, and the blossoms finally opened this past week. I think they were worth the wait on this rarely seen tree.
One of my clients tells me these flowers remind her of Flamenco dancers, can you see it?
This photo shows the two apartment buildings formerly well-screened by the old Pittosporum hedge. The buildings funneled the wind directly at my hedge of trees, probably reaching gusts of 50-60 mph, both rare in force and also direction, coming from the south. All that sustained wind over one night in combination with rain saturated soils after an extraordinary amount of rain in February and March of 2023 was more than the trees could bare. The wind was like a fire hose aimed directly at my windrow hedge.