Ochna serrulata
With its shiny inexperienced foliage, cheerful yellow blossoms, and hanging fruit show, the Mickey Mouse plant (Ochna serrulata) is suited to cultivation in Zones 9 to 11.
Native to South Africa, this semi-evergreen shrub is often known as hen’s eye bush, carnival ochna, and small-leaved airplane.
We hyperlink to distributors that can assist you discover related merchandise. In the event you purchase from considered one of our hyperlinks, we could earn a fee.
Why the whimsical title?
Because the yellow flowers fade, they’re adopted by crimson petal-like sepals and shiny black berries, resembling the basic cartoon character’s yellow footwear, black ears, and crimson pants.
Learn on to learn to develop and look after Mickey Mouse shrubs in your panorama.
O. serrulata places on an ornamental show from late spring to fall.
The shrubs have a free, irregular progress behavior. Elliptical inexperienced leaves alternate alongside branching stems dotted with respiratory pores referred to as lenticels, giving the bark a noticed look.
5-petaled, aromatic yellow flowers seem briefly in spring.
Because the petals fall, the inexperienced sepals enlarge and switch brilliant crimson, encasing the younger inexperienced drupes that mature into shiny black berries by late summer time.
The shrubs are semi-evergreen and will drop some leaves at season’s finish within the cooler elements of their hardiness vary.
Mickey Mouse plant is a slow-growing species with the potential to grow to be invasive and has finished so in elements of Australia and New Zealand in addition to Hawai’i.
The Hawai‘i-Pacific Weed Danger Evaluation charges it as “Excessive Danger,” indicating vital potential for ecological disruption.
Observe additionally that it’s poisonous to individuals and pets if ingested.
Fast Look
Frequent title(s): Mickey Mouse plant, hen’s eye bush, carnival ochna, small-leaved airplane
Plant kind: Semi-evergreen shrub
Hardiness (USDA Zone): September 11
Native to: South Africa
Bloom time / season: Late spring to fall
Publicity: Full solar to half shade
Soil kind: Common, well-draining loam
Soil pH: 5.5-6.5, barely acidic
Time to maturity: 3 years
Mature measurement: 4-8 toes tall, 3-4 toes vast
Greatest makes use of: Specimen, hedging, container
Taxonomy
Order: Malpighiales
Household: Ochnaceae
Genus: Ochna
Species: Serrulata
Different, much less generally cultivated Ochna species embody O. natalitia, aka Mickey Mouse bush, and Natal or showy airplane.
This species differs from O. serrulata, having bigger leaves that emerge crimson within the spring and barely bigger yellow flowers.
Anticipate mature heights of 4 to eight toes with a selection of three to 4 toes.
Mickey Mouse crops work properly as decorative specimens, naturalize readily, and make enticing casual hedges when a number of are planted collectively, spaced three to 4 toes aside.
Tips on how to Develop
Mickey Mouse plant is comparatively simple to domesticate when its primary necessities are met. It thrives in heat, humid environments that mimic its native subtropical South African habitat.
Local weather
This shrub thrives in temperatures ranging between 59 and 97°F through the rising season.
It could possibly tolerate temperatures as little as 28°F in winter however could expertise leaf drop or dieback.
In areas liable to frost, think about offering safety or cultivating Mickey Mouse plant in containers that may be moved indoors throughout colder months.
Gentle
Select a location with full solar to partial shade. Within the warmest areas, an understory placement with the dappled daylight penetrating the foliage of taller shrubs and timber can assist to keep away from leaf scorch.
Whereas Mickey Mouse plant can tolerate some shade, inadequate gentle could result in decreased flowering and fruiting.
Soil
The soil needs to be moisture-retentive, well-draining common loam. A barely acidic to impartial pH between 5.5 and 6.5 is good.
Water
Keep constant moisture, particularly through the rising season. Water Mickey Mouse crops when the highest inch of soil feels dry, guaranteeing the soil stays moist however not waterlogged.
As soon as established, O. serrulata displays reasonable drought tolerance however advantages from common watering throughout extended dry intervals.
Fertilizing
Mickey Mouse isn’t a heavy feeder, so keep away from overfertilizing, which might harm roots and stems.
In case your soil is poor, work in a number of handfuls of compost at planting time to enhance vitamin and drainage.
Every spring, you possibly can top-dress with compost or apply a slow-release granular fertilizer with a 5-10-5 (NPK) ratio to help blooming and fruit growth.
Hold the product away from the bottom of the shrub to keep away from stem burn.
The place to Purchase
Mickey Mouse plant is just not generally out there by way of mainstream nurseries or massive on-line retailers.
You’ll probably discover it in specialty nurseries within the acceptable rising zones or from plant fanatics.
Mickey Mouse Plant
Yow will discover Mickey Mouse crops out there from 9EzTropical by way of Amazon in six-inch pots.
Upkeep
Prune after fruiting to form the specimen right into a compact, multi-branching shrub or single-trunked small tree.
Keep away from eradicating greater than one-third of the full quantity at anybody time to keep away from shock.
You may also carry out gentle trimming through the rising season to take away lifeless, broken, or diseased branches as wanted.
Pluck and get rid of seedlings that pop up in undesirable locations within the spring.
Propagation
You possibly can propagate these shrubs from seeds or by way of stem cuttings. The best option to get began is to transplant a nursery begin.
From Seed
Buy seeds or accumulate the fruits from an present Mickey Mouse plant once they flip black and crinkly.
You possibly can take away the seeds from the fruits or just scarify them by rubbing them with sandpaper or a nail file to take away a number of the powerful outer coating.
Soak the seeds in a single day in tepid water.
Fill three-inch seed starter pots three-quarters full with moisture-retentive, well-draining potting soil.
Sow one or two seeds in every pot a couple of third of an inch deep.
Cowl them evenly with soil.
Water the soil so it’s evenly moist however not waterlogged.
Set them in a location with brilliant, oblique daylight.
Keep even moisture by watering earlier than the potting combine dries out.
When the seedlings have a number of units of true leaves, skinny them to 1 per pot.
The seedlings are prepared for transplant when they’re about 4 to 6 inches tall.
From Cuttings
To propagate from stem cuttings, await a flush of latest foliar progress.
Reduce a six-inch size of recent stem and tip progress slightly below a leaf node.
Take away the leaves from the underside three inches of stem.
Put together a six-inch pot three-quarters filled with moisture-retentive, well-draining potting medium.
Use a pencil or chopstick to make a three-inch-deep gap within the middle of the soil.
Dip the minimize finish of the stem into rooting hormone powder.
Place the stem within the three-inch gap so the leafless half is under the soil.
Tamp the soil to carry it firmly in place and water in properly.
Place the container in brilliant, oblique daylight. Keep even moisture with out oversaturation.
When the chopping produces new foliage it’s able to transplant.
Transplanting
When you have got a longtime seedling, chopping, or nursery begin, you possibly can transplant it to the panorama in spring. In heat, frost-free areas, late winter to early spring is good.
Start by watering shrub the day earlier than to assist ease transplant shock. Observe its depth within the unique container.
Select a web site with loamy, well-draining soil, and amend it with compost if needed to enhance texture and drainage.
Work the soil to a depth of eight to 12 inches till it’s crumbly and free from particles.
Make a gap twice as vast and the identical depth as the present container.
Unpot and place the basis ball within the ready gap on the identical depth as within the unique container, barely above floor degree.
Backfill, tamp properly, and water in properly.
Keep even moisture through the institution interval, watering when the highest few inches of soil dry out.
Alternatively, develop in a well-draining container three-quarters filled with a moisture-retentive, well-draining potting medium.
Select a pot that’s two to 4 inches wider and deeper than the basis ball. Water when the highest few inches of soil really feel dry, and maintain off on fertilizing at planting time.
Pests and Illness
Whereas Mickey Mouse plant is just not particularly liable to issues with pests or illness, you could encounter them in lower than ultimate rising circumstances.
Scale, mealybugs, and thrips are sapsucking bugs that favor scorching, dry circumstances.
These bugs feed on plant juices and may trigger yellowing leaves, stunted progress, and total decline. They could additionally unfold illness.
Hold the soil constantly moist however not soggy to assist discourage infestations, and deal with outbreaks with natural neem oil.
The lenticels on the branches are open pores that may generally grow to be entry factors for fungal pathogens, notably in overly moist or humid circumstances.
To scale back the danger of an infection, make sure the shrub receives ample daylight and keep away from overwatering.
M-I-C-Okay-E-Y-M-O-U-S-E
In case you are – ahem – of a sure age, like me, you might be certain to have seen one of many incarnations of the Mickey Mouse Membership TV present and know that the theme tune spelled out the beloved rodent’s title.
The intense crimson sepals and black fruits of easy-care, semi-evergreen O. serrulata make a vibrant, whimsical welcome in outside residing areas within the basic “Hey, there, hello there, ho there” Mickey Mouse model many gardeners fondly keep in mind.
Do you develop Mickey Mouse plant in your panorama? Please share your ideas within the feedback part under.
In the event you loved this information and want to learn extra about rising shrubs in your panorama, we suggest the next:
© Ask the Specialists, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for extra particulars. Product picture by way of 9EzTropical. Uncredited images: Shutterstock.
