Growing Mexican Orange Blossom: Tips at a Glance
With fragrant dainty white flowers and glossy, aromatic leaves, evergreen Mexican orange blossom is a shrub that can cover footings, hide utility boxes, and create backdrops for smaller perennials in the garden.
- Type Flowering shrub
- Lifespan Perennial
- USDA Zones 7 to 10
- Light Sun or part shade
- Soil Well drained
- When to Plant Spring, fall
- Design Tip Evergreen
- Colors Fragrant white flowers
- Peak Season Late spring
Mexican Orange Blossom: A Field Guide
Evergreen Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata) is an excellent shrub to keep in mind if you live in a climate with mild winters and you need a foundation screen, a backdrop plant, or a deer-resistant hero.
With clusters of small, perfumed flowers and glossy green leaves, Mexican orange blossom is a handsome foil for other plants. The shrub will grow to a height of about 6 feet (with a slightly smaller diameter) but you can prune it hard to keep it smaller without harming its health. “Because the leaves are pleasantly shiny and the flowers are white, try planting Mexican orange blossom in a white-themed or midnight garden where its attributes can be truly appreciated,” writes our contributor Kier Holmes. Read more in Gardening 101: Mexican Orange Blossom.
Native to Mexico, Mexican orange blossom will thrive in southern US climates from Arizona to Georgia, as well as in California.
For another flowering shrub with glossy leaves that can perform the same jobs in the garden (if you live in a warm region), see our growing guide for Camellias. (And see camellias in action in Landscaping Ideas: The Case for Camellias.)
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