Mexican orange tree (Choisya ternata)

white flowers with large petals

Have you thought about having in your house a kind of fence made with some type of bush or species that gives color and life to your home? There are a large number of options, but most likely among all of them, the Choisya Ternata be the most prominent among them all.

La Choisya Ternata has great potential that this species possesses. With such simple flowers you can change the landscape of any garden. So stay until the end to find out a little more about this curious species.

General data

bush full of white flowers

Surely you do not know this species by its scientific name, but surely you have heard of it under the name of the Mexican orange tree. As its name suggests, it is a plant native to Mexico, although it also belongs to the territory of the United States such as Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

Its use in gardens is very high thanks to the fact that it is an evergreen shrub, which has very shiny leaves when sunlight falls on them. In addition to being very striking and tends to stand out a lot due to the white color of its leaves.

Curiously this plant belongs to the Rutaceae family, which means that they share similar characteristics to citrus plants. But what makes it stand out are the nuts that the plant generates, since once ripe, they release seeds.

As for the genre, there are eight different variants. Each of them is found in the same locations as the Mexican orange tree, but it's the Choisya Ternata the most resistant spice among all of them, so it is common to see this plant grow in high places in Mexico.

Features Choisya Ternata

It's time to move on to the highlights. The first one is that it is a shrub that can grow to two meters high.

But if properly maintained, it can be had at a height of 1 or 1.5 m. And although pruning is not something necessary in these plants, it only requires light maintenance, since it naturally acquires a shape desired by many.

The good thing is that the adaptability of this plant to different gardens is high, so it does not matter much what type of soil there is. What if you need to be in a place where the sun hits you directly, or failing that, in a partially shaded place.

Although it is recommended to people who have this species, keep them in a sheltered place and whenever the winter season is very icy, since it does not present great resistance to cold.

The good news for the vast majority is that the Mexican orange tree is very resistant to pests and diseases, which is excellent news, since you do not need pesticides or any other type of products to deal with pests.

Cultivation and care

garden with planted shrub called Choisya ternata

We must start by saying that the cultivation occurs through the cuttings. To be more exact, you need a cutting whose length is around 10 cm. A fact that did not stand out in the characteristics is that the plant blooms in spring. This flowering lasts until the summer.

On the other hand, it was already mentioned that the plant can live either under direct sun, or in a semi-shady place. The detail is that the place will depend on how warm is the place where it has been planted.

If the temperatures are very high, it is best to keep it in a semi-shady place. On the other hand, if the temperatures are between 17 and 22 ° C, it is recommended that the orange tree be planted under the sun.

As for the irrigation that you must offer to the species, This has to be done every three days and always avoiding the occurrence of flooding, since it does not tolerate excess water, so you must give it an efficient drainage system.

In case you plan to provide compost or fertilizer, you we recommend that you use mineral fertilizer and do it during the autumn times or, failing that, when spring is beginning.


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