Alan Postill propagator of Daphne bholua Jaqueline Postill has bred a sensational new golden form of the Mexican orange blossom.
Due to be launched at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show Choisya ‘Aztec Gold’ is an attractive, bushy, evergreen shrub with striking, golden, aromatic foliage – rich gold at the ends of the shoots, green-gold in the heart of the plant. Its slender leaflets are very waxy and weather resistant, and do not suffer the winter damage of other golden foliage varieties. In spring and early summer, and then again in autumn, delicious almond-scented white flowers appear, attracting bees and butterflies.
In Choisya ‘Aztec Gold’, Alan Postill has realised his objective of creating a remarkably strong-growing, golden foliage form of the Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’, which Hillier introduced 30 years ago in1982, and has since become one of the nation?s best-selling and best-loved garden shrubs. Knowing its pedigree and performance in real gardens, Alan selected Choisya ‘Aztec Pearl’ as one of the parent plants for the new variety.
Choisya ‘Aztec Gold’ performs well in any reasonably fertile well-drained soil in full sun or partial shade, although the colour will be less golden in shade, of course. It is ideally suited to a mixed border or a large container, and planted with other gold foliage or gold variegated shrubs, or contrasted with blue flowers or plum-purple foliage.