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Ochna serrulata (Mickey Mouse Plant) – A slow growing semi-evergreen small shrub to 3 to 8 feet tall (can be trained taller) with a slender dark brown smooth-barked stem and 1˝ to 3 inch long elliptical glossy green leaves that have finely-toothed wavy margins; old leaves drop off in early spring and are immediately replaced by new leaves that are flushed with pink in new growth. The attractive and fragrant yellow flowers, forming at branch tips, typically bloom in spring but also appear at other times of the year. The yellow petals only last a short while, but drop to display the unusual attractive clusters of small green fruit that age to be ˝ inch long shiny black berries that are held below bright red sepals. By early summer the entire plant can be covered in what at first appears to be red flowers but is actually the lingering sepals and with closer inspection the combination of these sepals and the black berries show the resemblance to the face of Mickey Mouse, hence the common name “Mickey Mouse Plant”.
Seems to flower best when planted in full sun, but still blooms and grows well in shade. Tolerates wet and heavy soils but also very dry conditions when planted in shade but plants open up and is fuller when given some supplemental irrigation in full sun. Cold hardy to 27° F. The flowers are attractive to both bees and butterflies and fruit is eaten by birds which can spread the plant around a bit in the garden. This plant tolerates wind and seaside conditions (Second Zone) and takes well to regular hedging and pruning, making it an ideal candidate for a formal or informal small hedge. Also good as a feature specimen plant, an espalier subject or in a pot.
Ochna serrulata naturally occurs on the subtropical east coast of southern Africa and southeaster areas of Western and Eastern Cape where grows from sea level to several thousand feet in the mountains in the forest understory, along forest margins, rocky slopes, bushveld and grasslands of KwaZulu-Natal. It can also be found in the southeastern part of Western Cape and the Eastern Cape. The name Ochna is from the Greek word 'ochne' meaning "wild pear" because of the fruits resemblance to a pear fruit and the specific epithet refers to "saw-toothed" leaf margins.
Our plants were grown from seed collected of a plant collected at Franceschi Park in the Santa Barbara Riviera. It was a plant that was introduced into California horticulture in 1910 by the nursery of the Southern California Acclimatizing Association (SCAA), which was the nursery founded by Dr. Francesco Franceschi (AKA Emanuele Orazio Fenzi) and later run by horticulturist Peter Riedel.
Image from Wikipedia by C.T. Johansson.
The information about Ochna serrulata that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.
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