Plant ID?

[_Keith]

Wife wants one.

[Trava]

Nicotiana glauca,very invasive.

[fastfeat]

Keith--

It's one of the yellow or orange Cestrum hybrids -- 'Orange Peel', 'Orange Zest', 'Moon Glow' -- that combines C. aurantiacum (orange jessamine) with C. parqui (willow-leaf jessamine). The former parent provides the orange color; the latter provides cold-hardiness, some flower scent at night, and ill-smelling foliage. Some sources cite C. nocturnum (night-blooming jessamine) and/or C. diurnum (day jessamine) in the parentage as well, but I don't see much of either of those two in the plants I've seen.

The hybrids grow in wide ranges of climates (through USDA zone 7, supposedly) that true C. aurantiacum would never survive. Long blooming season; attracts butterflies. Sprout back after hard freezes. OTOH, will volunteer rather prodigiously; requires vigilance to keep from escaping.

(True Cestrum aurantiacum is uncommon in the trade. It's a rather tender shrub with larger, clear orange flowers that have a clean, citrus scent during daylight hours followed by white fruits. Perhaps its best feature is that its foliage is not ill-scented like the more common hybrids above. Not especially vigorous; seldom escapes. Worth seeking out, esp for milder CA coastal areas.)

[kahili]

It is a cestrum hybrid, and it is hardy here in zone 7 and fastfeat is right-the foliage smells bad and I have never smelled the blooms. Maybe they are like Cestrum nocturnum where the blooms can only be smelled at night and early am. I need to go smell one at night and see-but even if they are scented-they are not nearly as strong as C. nocturnum.