Mock orange
Philadelphus coronarius · Hydrangeaceae Popular
A big, old-fashioned shrub covered in white, four-petalled flowers in early summer, with a scent like orange blossom that carries across the garden.
- Size
- 10 ft tall, 10 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around mock orange
The planner designed this bed around mock orange when this page was made: a 30 × 14 ft (9.1 × 4.3 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why mock orange stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Mock orange × 1, white
- 2 Winter heath × 23, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 56, blue
- 4 Blue holly × 1, blue-green leaves
- 5 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 6 Switchgrass 'Prairie Sky' × 4, tan
- 7 Bee balm 'Jacob Cline' × 3, red
- 8 White mugwort × 3, cream
- 9 Gloriosa daisy 'Indian Summer' × 13, yellow
- 10 Chives × 46, purple
- 11 Salvia 'May Night' × 3, purple
- 12 Turk's cap lily × 3, orange
- 13 Star of Persia × 7, purple
- 14 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 7, purple
Why this plant
- The only open bowls. The others are bells, dense clusters, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 10 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white mugwort (5 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late May to late June.
- In company. With chives, salvia 'May Night', star of Persia and others in late May: 5 kinds at once.
Planned as an English border: 25 of the 29 groups (86%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Neither end outweighs the other: the visual weight is split 50 to 50, left to right. Low plants run along 100% of the front edge: leadwort and winter heath.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Satisfactory.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where mock orange goes in a border
At 10 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
It is grown for two weeks of scent and is plain for the rest of the year, so put it at the back. Cut out the oldest stems after flowering to keep it from becoming leggy.
- Fragrance in early summer
- The back of a large shrub border
- Old-fashioned gardens
What to plant with mock orange
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Peony: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; low enough (3 ft) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian iris: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; low enough (2½ ft) to stand in front of it.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about mock orange
Does mock orange need sun or shade?
Mock orange grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and a good soak in dry spells. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does mock orange grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does mock orange flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 4 | Early June to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Mid May to mid June |
| Zone 8 | Early May to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should mock orange be planted?
8 ft (250 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 10 ft (300 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 10 ft (300 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many mock orange plants do I need?
Usually one. At 8 ft (250 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 8 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is mock orange poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like mock orange?
Mock orange comes from North EastTurkey to Caucasus. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- American cranberrybush: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour; wants moist soil.
- Common ninebark: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 20 in shorter, 20 in narrower.
- American elderberry: the same job in a bed, the same size and the same colour; flowers mid June to mid July, wants moist soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat mock orange?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after mock orange?
Mock orange is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Oakleaf hydrangea: from mid June to early August, 6½ ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Hollyhock: from early July to late August, 6 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Delphinium: from late June to mid July, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does mock orange look like in winter?
Mock orange drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Philadelphus
- Lewis's mock orange Philadelphus lewisii
- Mock orange 'Belle Etoile' Philadelphus 'Belle Etoile'
- Mock orange 'Miniature Snowflake' Philadelphus 'Miniature Snowflake'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 10 ft (300 cm) tall, 10 ft (300 cm) wide
- Plant
- 8 ft (250 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late May to late June; open bowls; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green, chartreuse
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Moderate
- Feeding
- Light, in spring
- Family
- Hydrangeaceae
- Comes from
- North EastTurkey to Caucasus
- Stands up to
- Drought
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.