Courtesy Mary Henry
About mid-March, the annual explosion of spring blossom will begin in Seattle. Until that time (and it will come quickly) we’ll still be thinking about color and beauty for the winter garden. So before the curtain comes down on the Jack Frost Show, let’s have one more look at a plant to enliven our gardens in the dark months.
Mexican Orange (Choisya ternata) has been around a long time, working hard, so well, so long, so steadfastly, that it is taken for granted. But if you were strolling the sidewalks of Madison Park during the brutally cold days of last month, and you saw a burst of lustrous sunshine yellow foliage, you might well have been looking a Choisya ternate “Sundance.” When other broad-leafed evergreens were drooping and looking quite forlorn in the shivering temperatures, this spirited shrub seemed to be basking in the chill. It will withstand a prolonged drop in temperatures to 15 degrees.
The plant forms a dense mound, up to 6 feet tall. The leaves are near the ends of branches and are divided into fans of three leaflets, each as long as 3 inches. In Spring, clusters of fragrant white flowers emerge, somewhat like orange blossoms. The flowering is continuous for a couple of months and then, intermittently through the summer. Branches, in or out of flower, are a delight to take indoors for leaf color or blossom scent. The flowers are especially attractive to bees and butterflies. The common name refers to the flowers. There is no fruit.
Native to Northern Mexico and Arizona, this plant seems to thrive better here than it does in its native habitat. It prefers acid soil, which we have in ample supply. While it needs full Sun, it sometimes scorches in the desert heat. Here, our gentle summers keep the foliage lush and upright. Give it a spot where it can soak up sunlight and take command of the space. Some gardeners recommend it as a good
hedge plant. It is, because in takes to shearing and leafs back freely, but this writer and gardener cannot bring himself to chop at the easy going form of this naturally round, symmetrical shrub. Given a large enough container, it could also make a very impressive pot plant, given you have plenty of space for it.
Buy a plant now, in a one-gallon can. You can put it in the ground immediately this month. Dig a generous hole, more than twice as wide as the container the plant comes in and deep enough that the top of the root ball is just a bit below the ground level. Loosen the rootball when you take it out of the nursery container. Fill the planting hole with water, thrice, letting it soak in, fully, between fillings. Put the Mexican Orange in place, fill-in with good, loam, water again and top with a mulch. You’ll likely not have to water again until Summer parches the garden.
For Winter foliage color, a year-round mound of sunshine in the garden, and for delicate, sweetly fragrant flowers, Mexican Orange stands alone.
Muy hermosa y trabajadora! Ole!