PlantFiles: Mexican orange
Choisya ternata

I purchased this shrub last spring and kept it in a large pot for a year so I could move it around to see what condition it liked in my yard. It grew fast and has lots of blooms on it this spring, although I can't pick up any scent on them. I am trying to decide where to plant it in the yard, because of the lack of scent I won't be putting it near the path I had planned for it, but it is an attractive shrub year round.

We've had a little success and some bloom, yet this plant really doesn't like our water at all. The chlorine in our tap water just has a tendency to put these plants into a stand still during our hot, dry summers. Spring does bring some bloom but nothing like the areas where summer rains are common.

Very vigorous and maintenance free - I think the fragrance is more like honey than orange - doesn't need much water.

Choisya ternata is a native of Mexico, Texas and Arizona. The flowers of this shrub are fragrant and even the leaves when crushed smell slightly of oranges. Described as hardy to USDA zone 7, it is known to be extremely frost-resistant, showing some scorching of the leaves and short die back, but recovering again and not dying outright.