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Japanese Pittosporum mocks orange blossoms, rodent populations boom
Weak rainfall leads to lesser wildflower bloom
Japanese Pittosporum has flowers that smell like orange blossoms giving it the name "Mock Orange."
As the fragrance of orange blossoms stops its welcome wafting on the San Diego breeze, it is being replaced by the sweet scent of Mock Orange, also known as Japanese Pittosporum or Australian Laurel. Mock Orange is an evergreen shrub that is native to parts of Eastern Asia; it can be found in Japan, South Korea, northern Taiwan, and coastal parts of China. In North America, it can be found in coastal statues with mild climates — zones 8-10 — such as California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It thrives in full sun to heavy shade, grows in a wide range of soil pH, and is drought, heat and salt spray tolerant — but can’t survive in cold temperatures. It is typically seen as a bush or shrub, but can grow as tall as 13 feet if left unpruned. It blooms in April and May, and the flowers smell like orange blossoms — hence the name Mock Orange. However, the fruit it produces in the fall is not edible.
A Norway or brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurries across a backyard lawn to grab a morsel before it heads back to cover.
The populations of rabbits and rodents are peaking in the canyons and hillsides of coastal San Diego County just now. In many neighborhoods, car headlights are illuminating the bright white rear ends of scampering cottontail rabbits as they stage raids on succulent garden vegetation. Out on the fringes of suburbia, sleek coyotes are sometimes spotted slinking about in pursuit of rodents, rabbits, or easier-to-catch fare such as house cats. Rodent populations in Southern California have been booming the last couple years: a 2024 study by pest control company Orkin named Los Angeles the second "rattiest" city in America last year, beating out New York city. Only Chicago was more infested. Local San Diego neighborhoods have seen and increase in rodent populations in recent years as well. An old backyard shed and an unattended citrus tree are enough to support an entire colony of rodents, which are known to climb trees to source food.
Spring wildflowers like purple nightshade can still be found in cooler coastal enclaves.
San Diego’s coastal wildflower bloom — almost a bust this year because we had so little winter rain — is not entirely over. Meticulous searches on slopes facing north (away from the sun) or in shady canyon bottoms (where runoff may have lingered) may reveal native red monkeyflower, blue-eyed grass, wild hyacinth, and nonnatives such as chrysanthemum and mustard. Irrigated freeway embankments, with their showy African daisies, blooming iceplant, and other forms of groomed landscaping, look muted but decent this spring.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Japanese Pittosporum mocks orange blossoms, rodent populations boom
Weak rainfall leads to lesser wildflower bloom
Japanese Pittosporum mocks orange blossoms, rodent populations boom
Weak rainfall leads to lesser wildflower bloom
Japanese Pittosporum has flowers that smell like orange blossoms giving it the name "Mock Orange."
As the fragrance of orange blossoms stops its welcome wafting on the San Diego breeze, it is being replaced by the sweet scent of Mock Orange, also known as Japanese Pittosporum or Australian Laurel. Mock Orange is an evergreen shrub that is native to parts of Eastern Asia; it can be found in Japan, South Korea, northern Taiwan, and coastal parts of China. In North America, it can be found in coastal statues with mild climates — zones 8-10 — such as California, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. It thrives in full sun to heavy shade, grows in a wide range of soil pH, and is drought, heat and salt spray tolerant — but can’t survive in cold temperatures. It is typically seen as a bush or shrub, but can grow as tall as 13 feet if left unpruned. It blooms in April and May, and the flowers smell like orange blossoms — hence the name Mock Orange. However, the fruit it produces in the fall is not edible.
A Norway or brown rat (Rattus norvegicus) scurries across a backyard lawn to grab a morsel before it heads back to cover.
The populations of rabbits and rodents are peaking in the canyons and hillsides of coastal San Diego County just now. In many neighborhoods, car headlights are illuminating the bright white rear ends of scampering cottontail rabbits as they stage raids on succulent garden vegetation. Out on the fringes of suburbia, sleek coyotes are sometimes spotted slinking about in pursuit of rodents, rabbits, or easier-to-catch fare such as house cats. Rodent populations in Southern California have been booming the last couple years: a 2024 study by pest control company Orkin named Los Angeles the second "rattiest" city in America last year, beating out New York city. Only Chicago was more infested. Local San Diego neighborhoods have seen and increase in rodent populations in recent years as well. An old backyard shed and an unattended citrus tree are enough to support an entire colony of rodents, which are known to climb trees to source food.
Spring wildflowers like purple nightshade can still be found in cooler coastal enclaves.
San Diego’s coastal wildflower bloom — almost a bust this year because we had so little winter rain — is not entirely over. Meticulous searches on slopes facing north (away from the sun) or in shady canyon bottoms (where runoff may have lingered) may reveal native red monkeyflower, blue-eyed grass, wild hyacinth, and nonnatives such as chrysanthemum and mustard. Irrigated freeway embankments, with their showy African daisies, blooming iceplant, and other forms of groomed landscaping, look muted but decent this spring.
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