Choisya Gardening Tips    | |||||
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Choisya is a genus of shrubs in the family Rutaceae, comprising about 7-9 species. It is native to southern North America, from the southwest United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas) and south through most of Mexico. Choisya is commonly known as Mexican Orange, Mock Orange, Mexican Orange Blossom (C. ternata), and Starleaf (C.dumosa). The common name 'Mexican Orange' is based on the flowers being similar to those of orange, both in shape and scent. Starleaf is refer to the palmate leaves. Choisya is a popular ornamental plant, grown for its strongly aromatic leaves and flowers. The fragrant flowers produce abundant nectar and are a valued bee forage. Choisya , 1-3 m tall, is an evergreen shrub. It bears opposite, leathery, glossy, palmately compound leaves with 3-13 leaflets, each leaflet 3-8 cm long and 0.5 - 3.5 cm broad. The star-shaped flowers are white, with 8 -15 stamens and a green stigma, and are borne throughout the late spring and summer. The fruit is a leathery, two to six sectioned capsule. Choisya ternata is one of the most attractive and reliable of all evergreen shrubs. It is suitable for mixed borders, ornamental plant, or trained as wall shrubs. It can grow up to 2.4 m high and across, and produces small, glossy, dark green leaves which are formed by three oval leaflets. The leaves are aromatic when crushed. In spring to early summer, clusters of sweetly scented white flowers are borne amid the leaves. The cultivar, C. ternata 'Sundance' has bright yellow-green leaves and is therefore often planted to brightened up dark corners, but it rarely produces flowers. It is most striking when it is planted in front of plants with dark green foliage. Choisya is a hardy and trouble free plant which prefers sun and well-drained soil. Propagation is by semi-ripe cuttings in summer.  Choisya ternata Author: Ciaran036 (Creative Commons CC0)  Choisya ternata Author: Kurt Stueber (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0)  Choisya ternata Author: Hedwig Storch (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported)  Choisya 'Aztec Pearl' Author: A. Barra (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 3.0-unported) | |||||
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