Choisya ternata ‘White Dazzler’, a shrub bursting with fragrant white stars

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Slender leaflets fan out from the stem like fireworks, lit by clusters of white stars that smell of orange blossom. Choisya ternata ‘White Dazzler’ (‘Londaz’) is an evergreen shrub to 5 feet, at home in a bed, a pot or a hedge; give it full sun and drainage, and it flowers twice over.

Growing this star-studded shrub will be even easier with a few growing and care tips.

How to plant Choisya ‘White Dazzler’

Planting Choisya White dazzler in the ground

Either Spring or Fall are perfect for planting your Choisya ternata White Dazzler in the ground. Winter freezing and summer heat would make survival less guaranteed.

• Planting guide for shrubs

Planting Choisya White Dazzler in a pot

Since a pot can be brought indoor in case of extreme heat or cold, you can plant your Choisya ternata White Dazzler to a container anytime of the year.

• Simply take care to protect your potted Choisya White Dazzler in case of frost or heat wave
• Choisya White Dazzler is rather hardy, but if temperatures drop below freezing for an extended period, winterize your shrub if potted.

After planting your White Dazzler Choisya ternata

Water abundantly and regularly for the entire first year, but ensure the roots of the shrub don’t wallow in water. Drainage must be sufficient.

How to prune Choisya ternata White Dazzler

A Choisya ‘White dazzler’ will naturally grow into a harmonious, dense, mounding shape. It isn’t mandatory to prune it.

However, it is a great idea to use Choisya white dazzler as part of a hedge. If this is the case, pruning is of course required.

• Avoid pruning at the end of winter: flower buds would be trimmed off and you wouldn’t have any blooming.
• Simply wait for the last of the flowers to die off. Usually, this is around June.
• Note that if you prune too late in summer, you’ll be sacrificing the second blooming, in fall.

White dazzler Choisya ternata can be paired with other flower shrubs to create a flowered hedge that will enchant the entire neighborhood.

Propagating Choisya ternata White Dazzler

Cuttings are the optimal way to propagate Choisya White Dazzler.

• Collect cuttings in August (wood that has turned from soft green to brown, slightly woody)
• Cuttings should be about 6 inches long (15 cm)
• Remove all but the topmost leaves, keeping 2 or 4 at the tip
• Use rooting hormone if available – aloe vera gel works wonders for this
• Make a hole with a pencil or stick in potting soil mix and slide the cuttings in, press down
• After that, keep nursery post moist and in lots of indirect light (no direct sun)

Over the winter, keep them in a cool spot but out of the cold. Best is anywhere from 40 to 50°F (5 to 10°C).

Note: Choisya ternata White Dazzler is a plant that was bred and patented. Accordingly, it’s illegal to sell any self-propagated White Dazzler choisya without checking with the patent owner first.

• Read more about cuttings

Choisya ternata ‘White Dazzler’ care

Technically, once the first year is over and your Choisay white dazzler has settled in, you don’t need to care for it anymore.

However, it’s always possible to coax a nice and fuller bloom from it if you pay attention to its needs.

• Fertilizer for shrubs (generic) can be added in Spring
• Monitor for dry spells and water if it hasn’t rained in a fortnight (weekly for potted White Dazzler)
• In fall, amend and enrich the soil with manure and seaweed<!– (read here on what seaweed fertilizer is)–>
• Summer is a great time to add new mulch that will help retain soil moisture

Choisya ternata ‘White Dazzler’ pests and diseases

It’s rare to see a Choisya ternata succumb to disease, but the following pests may attack it:

• Snails – eat young Choisya ternata leaves, especially while the shrub is still small
• Red spider mite and Scale insect – mostly on White Dazzler when kept indoors

Yellowing, dropping leaves on a Choisya White Dazzler are more often caused by cultural problems such as waterlogged roots, drought stress, cold or wind damage, or nutrient deficiency than by pests.

Indoors, check leaf undersides for fine webbing and raise humidity around the shrub, since dry heated air is what lets red spider mite explode.

Keep mulch about a hand’s width clear of the trunk, since mulch piled against the bark traps moisture and invites collar rot; reducing shelter for slugs and snails is a secondary benefit.

Learn more about Choisya ternata ‘White Dazzler’

Also called Choisya ternata ‘Londaz’, the White Dazzler Choisya ternata is all about the bang. Fragrance, of course, but both flowers and leaves are slender and spread out from the stem like fireworks.

Leaves are very similar to those of lupine, e.g. they’re long and thin as children’s fingers and fan out in all directions.

Flowers have a scent that is similar to that of orange tree flowers.

Choisya ternata is perfect for growing in a shrub bed and in containers or pots, too.

In the Choisya family, other famous members include the following Choisya varieties :

• Choisya Aztec pearl – white flowers with thin, elongated leaves that turn deep green in color
• Choisya Sundance – leafage stands out in this choisya variety since the color is golden yellow, lemon yellow

The common name of Choisya ternata, Mexican orange, comes from “Mexico”, owing to the North American country where the plant was first found and described by botanists. Sad to say it doesn’t produce any oranges!

Read more on shrubs for the garden:

• Choosing the right type of hedge
• Trimming and pruning season and timing
• Hedges with flower shrubs
• How to grow an orange tree