Mexican Orange Blossom (Choisya ternata) - white flowers, illustrated plant cardIllustration

Mexican Orange Blossom

Choisya ternata

Also called mexican orange, mexican mock orange and mexican orange flower

Mexican Orange Blossom blooms from May through June.

Bloom calendar
Bloom time
May–Jun
a house reading
Hardiness
Zones 7–10
checked
Sun
Part shade
checked
Water
Moderate water
checked
Mature size
6.5 ft × 6 ft
checked
Type
Shrub
house classification

Months here are Northern Hemisphere months; in the Southern Hemisphere, shift them by six months.

Growing Mexican Orange Blossom

Plant it in part shade. It prefers moderate water. It is hardy in USDA zones 7–10. Expect it to reach about 6.5 ft tall and 6 ft wide at maturity, in roughly 4 years (a house reading).

Pets

  • Not yet checked for pets.

Lists differ and none is complete. If a pet eats a plant and seems unwell, call a veterinarian or a pet poison helpline.

No toxicity note is on file for Mexican Orange Blossom. That is not a clearance: check its safety for people and pets before planting.

Verification
What was checked

Nine facts were checked against named botanical sources, each recorded beside the sources that carried it: mature height and spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color, the trait tags, and years to mature size, which rests on a recorded house rule where no publisher states one and is marked so. Soil, diseases, pests, toxicity and the plant's own names have not yet been read for this plant, and its trait tags are the ones a feature uses rather than every word a page prints. Each fact above carries its own mark. The planting, spacing and size sections are derived from these checked facts by a fixed rule, not checked separately, and the plant type is the library's own classification.

See the 8 sources it was checked against

When to plant Mexican Orange Blossom

Plant Mexican Orange Blossom in early spring as soon as the soil is workable, or in early fall at least six weeks before your first frost, so roots establish in cool weather. In zone 8, the middle of its hardy zones 7 to 10, spring means February to April and fall means September or October. Once settled, it blooms from May to June.

Month-by-month timing for your zone is on the planting calendar; if you garden near zone 8, the middle of this plant's hardy range, start with zone 8 in February. Derived from the plant's category, zones and bloom months plus typical zone frost dates, not checked separately.

How big does Mexican Orange Blossom get?

Illustration of Mexican Orange Blossom drawn to scale beside an adult6.5 fttall5 ft 7 inan adult6 ftwide
About 6.5 ft tall and 6 ft wide at maturity: a little taller than an adult.

See Mexican Orange Blossom in a garden plan: the planner shows it in 3D beside everything else you add, growing toward this size over the years.

How far apart to plant Mexican Orange Blossom

Derived from the mature spread above by a fixed rule, not checked separately: spacing is the spread, center to center.

Space Mexican Orange Blossom about 6 ft apart, center to center, so each plant has room to reach its full width.

Plant them
6 ft apart
Per 10 sq ft
one needs about 36 sq ft
4 by 8 ft bed
about 1

Add Mexican Orange Blossom to a garden plan and the planner draws it at its full width, so you see the spacing before you buy.

Where these facts come from

Mexican Orange Blossom's height, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom color and trait tags were checked against 8 published sources on October 19, 2026. Each one is linked below with every fact it carried, which can include a fact this page still marks as not yet checked, because a source carrying a value is not the same as the value being held to the standard. Facts not in that list, and the planting, spacing and size sections, are not covered by these sources.

  • Missouri Botanical Gardenheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • NC State Extensionheight, spread, hardiness zones, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • urbantreefarm.comUrban Tree Farm Nurseryheight, spread, sun, water, bloom months and color and trait tags
  • Oregon State Universityheight, hardiness zones, sun, water and bloom months and color
  • briggsnursery.comBriggs Nurseryheight, spread, hardiness zones and bloom months and color
  • jcra.ncsu.eduJC Raulston Arboretumheight and bloom months and color
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societyheight and spread
  • RHSRoyal Horticultural Societybloom months and color

How the checking works, and what each standard covers, is on the verified plants page.

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Design a garden with this

Drop this plant onto a 3D plan, see how it fills in, and watch your whole garden bloom across the year.

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