Jojoba

Sun

Full sun; tolerates light shade but grows more loosely.

Water

Low once established; water young plants deeply, then allow the soil to dry between waterings.

Soil

Very well-drained sandy, gravelly or rocky soil; tolerates alkaline soils but not persistent waterlogging.

Height

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m)

Spread

6-10 ft (1.8-3 m)

Flowers

Late winter to spring; small yellow-green flowers, with male flowers in clusters and female flowers usually solitary.

Foliage

Evergreen. Opposite pairs of thick, oval, grey-green leaves, often held nearly upright.

Growth

Slow to moderate; slower with little irrigation.

Care needed

Low

• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Moderate

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   1.6 ft (0.5 m)

2. After 1 year

   2.6 ft (0.79 m)

3. After 2 years

   4 ft (1.1 m)

4. After 3 years

   5 ft (1.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   6 ft (2 m)

About 7 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Toxic

Native to

the US

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant in full sun with enough space for its broad, branching habit.
• Water deeply during establishment, letting the root zone dry between waterings; reduce irrigation as the plant becomes established.
• Avoid lawn irrigation and sites where winter rain collects around the roots.
• Use gravel mulch, keeping it clear of the main stems.
• Do not feed routinely; excess fertiliser and water encourage unnecessary soft growth.
• In cold or wet climates, grow in a freely draining container and overwinter in a bright, frost-free place.

Pruning. Prune lightly in late spring after frost danger has passed, removing dead, damaged or crossing branches. Shorten individual shoots to shape rather than repeatedly shearing the whole shrub.

Spring

Plant after frost danger has passed, or in autumn where winters are mild and the soil drains freely.

Late spring

Remove frost-damaged growth and lightly shape established shrubs.

Summer

Check new plants regularly and water deeply when their root zone has dried.

Autumn

Reduce irrigation as temperatures fall and clear debris from around the base.

Winter

Protect young plants from unusual freezes and keep container plants sheltered from prolonged cold and rain.

• Use as an informal evergreen screen in a sunny, dry boundary.
• Combine with agaves and yuccas for contrasting rounded foliage and strong architectural shapes.
• Plant in gravel gardens with dry-climate perennials, leaving room for its natural spread.
• Use in southwestern native gardens as a durable background shrub and wildlife shelter.

Garden styles it suits: Desert / xeriscape, Desert modern, Southwestern, California native, Dry gravel garden and Low-maintenance.

Plant it with: Desert willow, Red yucca, Desert marigold, Brittlebush, Parry's agave and Blackfoot daisy.

Wildlife: Provides shelter for birds and small animals. Deer and other browsing mammals may eat the foliage, and rodents take the seeds; flowers are wind-pollinated rather than a significant nectar source.

• Root rot in wet soil: improve drainage before planting, move plants out of low spots and stop frequent irrigation.
• Frost-damaged leaves and shoots: protect young plants during freezes and wait until spring to remove damaged growth.
• Poor establishment after transplanting: use young container-grown plants, disturb the roots as little as possible and water the original root ball carefully.
• No seed capsules: plants are normally male or female, and females need wind-borne pollen from a nearby male; seedlings may take several years to flower.

The seeds are not edible and contain simmondsin, which can cause harmful effects if swallowed. Keep seeds away from people, cats, dogs and horses; toxicity information for individual domestic animal species is limited. The foliage is browsed by wildlife and is not generally known to be poisonous.

• Olive (Olea europaea)

  Olive usually has narrower, pointed leaves with distinctly silvery undersides and fleshy fruits; jojoba has broader, blunt-ended leaves and dry seed capsules.

• Common box (Buxus sempervirens)

  Box generally has smaller, greener leaves and denser, finer branching; jojoba has thicker grey-green leaves and a more open desert-shrub habit.

The epithet chinensis means 'of China', reflecting a mistaken origin for a plant native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico.

Propagation. Sow fresh seed in deep pots using a freely draining mix and warmth; seedlings develop a strong taproot and should be planted out while young. Semi-ripe cuttings can be rooted with suitable propagation conditions and preserve the sex of the parent plant, unlike seed.

Accepted botanical name

Simmondsia chinensis

In the US and Canada

Native in the lower 48 states.

Native range

Arizona, California, Mexico Northeast, Mexico Northwest, New Mexico and Utah.

Measured

Soil pH 7 to 8.5. Average height 212 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.