Mexican orange
Choisya dumosa · Rutaceae
Mexican orange (Choisya dumosa) is a perennial shrub in the Rutaceae family. It is native to North America. USDA records it as hardy in zone 8 and warmer, down to about 17°F.
At a glance
| Type | shrub USDA |
|---|---|
| Lifecycle | perennial USDA |
| Native status | native USDA |
| Mature height | 3 ft USDA |
| Light | full-sun USDA |
| Water need | low USDA |
| Growth rate | moderate USDA |
| Soil pH | 6.4–9.5 USDA |
| Bloom | May–June USDA |
| Flower color | White USDA |
| Hardiness zones | 8 and warmer USDA |
| Guild layer | shrub Derived |
| Nursery availability | Contracting Only USDA |
USDA quoted from the USDA PLANTS database · Derived computed by a fixed rule from those columns. No value on this page is estimated.
Growing conditions
It needs full sun. USDA rates it as having low water needs once established. Its drought tolerance is rated high. It will not tolerate waterlogged soil — USDA rates its anaerobic tolerance as none. It is recorded on soils from pH 6.4 to 9.5 — a broad range that spans acidic through mildly alkaline ground. Its cold limit is zone 8.
Size and growth
At maturity it reaches about 3 ft, making it roughly waist to chest height. It grows at a moderate rate.
Bloom period
USDA records a bloom period of May through June. Flowers are white.
A flowering date, not a pollinator rating.
Foliage, flower and season
Summer foliage is dark green, coarse in texture. Its flowers are conspicuous. It carries conspicuous autumn colour. Its active growth period is spring, summer, fall. Its winter foliage is dense, which makes it useful for year-round screening. USDA rates its lifespan as long.
What the site needs to provide
USDA records it across sites receiving 8 to 18 inches of annual precipitation. The low end of that band is genuinely arid, so it has a wide tolerance for dry country. It needs at least 300 frost-free days to finish its season. It roots to at least 18 inches. Fertility requirement: low — no feeding needed on ordinary garden soil.
Propagating it
Propagate it from cuttings, bare root and container stock. It does not spread vegetatively, so it will stay where you put it.
Resilience and wildlife
Its fire tolerance is rated low, and it can resprout after damage. Its growth form is recorded as multiple stem.
Role in a guild
Shrub layer. In a layered planting this is woody mid-level structure between the understory and the ground. The layer is derived by a fixed rule from growth habit and mature height.
Tags
Related plants
Similar role and hardiness
- turtleweed Batis maritima
- bushy seaside tansy Borrichia frutescens
- Arabian coffee Coffea arabica
- Florida hopbush Dodonaea viscosa
- Carolina desert-thorn Lycium carolinianum
Where this data comes from
Every value on this page comes from the USDA PLANTS database record for symbol CHDU, or is computed from those values by a fixed rule. Nothing here is estimated or model-generated. Where USDA publishes no value, this page omits the claim rather than filling the gap.
- Quoted from USDA PLANTS: active growth period, Bloom, Bloom end, cold stratification, Drought tolerance, fall conspicuous, fertility requirement, fire tolerance, Flower color, flower conspicuous, foliage color, foliage porosity winter, foliage texture, frost free days min, fruit conspicuous, growth form, Growth rate, Hardiness zones, Lifecycle, lifespan, Light, Mature height, Minimum temperature, Native status, Nitrogen fixation, Nursery availability, precipitation max in, precipitation min in, propagation, resprout ability, root depth in, seed spread rate, Soil pH, Soil pH (upper), Tolerance of wet soil, Toxicity, Type, vegetative spread rate, Water need.
- Derived by a fixed rule from those columns: Guild layer.
Read our full data sources and methodology.
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