Choisya 'Limo' GOLDFINGERS

We were so thrilled to hear that there was a hardy version of such an unusual and beautiful shrub like evergreen Mexican orange. It is an interspecific hybrid between choisya ternata with wider leaves that is often cultivated in South Europe and in England, and hardier choisya dumosa var. arizonica which has narrow leaves and comes from Arizona and Texas where, though used to hot weather, it withstands all sorts of unpleasant conditions including the ability to grow in elevations up to some 1200m. Choisya name was chosen in honour of Swiss botanist Jacques Denis Choisy (1799-1859), and the hybrid was named choisya x dewitteana (official approval of new botanical name pending). It was bred by Peter More from England and the very first variety from 1989 was called Aztec Pearl.

Possibly every plant is capable of creating its gold-leaved mutation. No wonder Peter Moore helped choisya with this process when crossing choisya ternata Sundance with choisya arizonica pollen. It was named GOLDFINGERS and was registered in 1998 i.e. 14 years before Hillier Nurseries introduced their own gold-leaved choisya Aztec Gold in 2012. European patent No. 5554 was issued in 2000.

GOLDFINGERS choisya boasts bright golden-yellow, evergreen leaves that are palmately divided into 3-7, glossy, narrow leaflets that are rich golden yellow above and lime green to yellow green inside the compact shrub. They release a tempting spicy scent when crushed, yet please do not consume them. They are very resistant to winter sun scorch even in winters of zone 6 and remain lush and handsome all year round. Also, the branches keep them for several years which helps the plant look dense without pruning, and which led some landscape designers to using it for informal evergreen hedges with unusual foliage. Great idea! From late April until early June the shrub produces a profusion of simple, star-shaped, pure white, and very fragrant flowers with yellow stamens. Their perfume is remarkably similar to orange flowers hence its name Mexican orange or Mexican blossom.

The hybrid was sold predominantly in England, where it was among the top ten best selling plants for 20 years, later in the Netherlands and France, and now in Italy where it battles with the original c. ternata. Only recently it was introduced to slightly colder parts of Europe as it proved to be hardier than older varieties of cherry laurels and photinias which had a problem during the cold winter of 2010, and a few more afterwards. So far it survived -23 °C without any damage which makes it hardy to USDA zone 6.

Grow choisya the same way as a sun loving rhododendron. It has shallow and delicate root system which must never stand in wet ground. Drainage is crucial for its happy life, and so is acid, fertile soil for its healthy look. We highly recommend using mycorrhiza that will help the plant establish sooner and provide enough nutrients. As it flowers from mid spring (on last year’s wood) pruning of any kind should happen immediately after flowering in early summer. If you follow these instructions you can enjoy a gorgeous plant for many years had without virtually any maintenance.

Last update 06-08-2020