Cestrum aurantiacum ‘Orange Zest’

Photo Courtesy of Northcreek

Add a tropical flair to your garden with this beautiful, cold hardy, heat loving Cestrum. Deliciously fragrant in the evenings with melon colored flowers late-spring through fall. Bees, butterflies and hummers enjoy the sweet nectar from the tubular flowers. Low maintenance shrub that thrives in summer heat. Full- part sun. Cestrum ‘Orange Zest’ is a unique and beautiful evergreen shrub in zone 8 and deciduous in zone 6-7. 5’ tall and wide.

It’s in the nightshade family, so highly toxic if ingested, which means deer avoid it. Yay! A wonderful choice for a bloomy shrub in places with deer pressure. You’ll want to plant Orange Zest in a prominent place , because of the long season of interest. Consider placement near a window or seating area where you can enjoy the lovely fragrance in evenings. To increase hardiness you could plant on the sunny side of a wall with some winter mulch.