Jun 16, 2007 3 min read

In early June, I take a small seat and park it next to the mock-orange bush that grows in my garden. This shrub has a short flowering time, but it is a time in the garden I really relish.

You see, the flowers of most cultivars of mock-orange flavor the air with the light scent of orange blossoms.

Within its genus, Philadelphus, there are many species of mock-orange, and countless hybrids. Mock-orange species are found native in North and Central America, from Eastern Europe to the mountains of Asia, and in East Asia. Native plant expert William Cullina notes four species native to the United States; two in the east, two in the west.

As its common name suggests, Appalachian Mock-orange, Philadelphus inodorus, is found primarily along the Appalachian Mountains from eastern Pennsylvania south into northern Georgia and Alabama. Cumberland Mock-orange, Philadelphus hirsutus, ranges from North Carolina and Kentucky south to Georgia and Alabama.

From the northern plains westward, from Montana to British Columbia and south to northern California, you’ll find Western Mock-orange, Philadelphus lewisii, named for explorer Meriwether Lewis (of the Lewis and Clark expedition). And in the Southwest, in Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and California, there is Littleleaf Mock-orange, Philadelphus microphyllus.

The flowers of mock-orange are typically 4-petaled and bowl-shaped, though some varieties offer semi-double or double flowers. In the razzle-dazzle world of gardening, where bigger and more colorful flowers are sought after, there is something charming about the pure simplicity of mock-orange’s dainty white flowers.

Sweet Mock-orange, Philadelphus coronarius, a very fragrant species from Europe is the kind usually found in home gardens. The typical Sweet Mock-orange is a large shrub, growing 10 to 12 feet tall (though some mock-orange cultivars and hybrids are not so big). I recall when I was a youngster mock-orange was quite a popular garden shrub. My Dad grew it, as did neighbors and relatives. For some reason its use in gardens has diminished, perhaps because it flowers for such a short time. The rest of the growing season my mock-orange does little to distinguish itself in the garden. However, as mock-orange fades into the background of the garden, it makes a nice backdrop for other flowering plants.

Mock-orange grows in a casual, loose fashion, with arching branches. The broad, yet oval leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, and the leaf margins are often toothed towards the leaf tip. The leaves are not too heavy in texture and are usually medium green in color. Philadelphus coronarius ‘Variegatus’ has leaves bordered in creamy white, while ‘Aureus’ has yellow foliage. Mock-orange loses its leaves in the fall.

As far as shrubs go, mock-orange is very tolerant of many soil types (including clay), takes full sun to partial shade, and can handle drought. It is as much at home in the garden as a specimen plant as it is as a border shrub along the edge of the woods. This shrub does not wince at neglect-as my mock-oranges can attest.

A plain Jane in the garden for most of the year, the orange blossom fragrance of mock-orange is supremely wonderful-no matter how fleeting-and well worth the garden space the shrub takes up.

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Susan Brimo-Cox gardens, observes nature and writes in Ohiopyle. Readers can send questions or comments to her at naturesgarden@brimo-cox.com.

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