• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Texas A&M Forest Service
  • Texas A&M Veterinary Medical Diagnostics Laboratory
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
  • Texas A&M AgriLife Research
  • Texas A&M College of Agrculture and Life Sciences
HCMGA
HCMGAHenderson County Master Gardener Association
  • Menu
  • Home
  • Harvest Garden
  • Plant Sale
  • Gardening Info
    • Newspaper Articles
    • Soil Testing
    • INSIDE DIRT Newsletters
    • Gardening Videos
    • Monthly Garden Guide
      • January
      • February
      • March
      • April
      • May
      • June
      • July
      • August
      • September
      • October
      • November
      • December
    • Texas Superstar® Plants
    • Earth-Kind® Landscaping
    • Growing Vegetables
    • Lawn Care
  • Plant Library
  • Events
  • About Us
    • About Texas Master Gardeners
    • History of Texas Master Gardener Program
    • Speakers Network
    • Ways to Support Us
  • Contact

Mock Orange

Philadelphus coronarius

Mock Orange bush
Mock Orange leaves and flowers
Mock Orange flower close up

Characteristics

  • Type: Shrub
  • Zone: 4 – 8
  • Height: 10 – 12 Feet
  • Spread: 10 – 12 Feet
  • Bloom Time: Spring
  • Bloom Description: White Flowers
  • Sun: Full Sun – Part Shade
  • Water: Medium
  • Maintenance: Low
  • Suggested Use: Hedge
  • Flower: Showy, Fragrant
  • Attracts: Butterflies
  • Tolerates: Deer, Clay Soil

Culture

Mock Orange is easily grown in average, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to light shade. Prefers moist, organically rich soils. Tolerates a wide range of soils except poorly-drained ones. Flowers of the Mock Orange appear on the prior year’s growth, so prune as needed immediately after flowering.

Noteworthy Characteristics

Philadelphus coronarius, commonly called Mock Orange is a dense, rounded, multi-stemmed, suckering, deciduous shrub with stiff, straight, ascending but arching branches. It typically matures to 10-12’ tall and as wide. It is native to southeastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is grown in landscapes primarily for its 4-petaled, very fragrant, white flowers (each to 1 1/2” across) which bloom abundantly in May to early June in small clusters (5 to 7- flowered racemes). Each flower purportedly resembles the shape of an orange blossom, hence the common name of mock orange. Flowers give way to seed capsules. Dark brown bark exfoliates with age.  Genus name comes from the Greek word philadelphus meaning loving one’s brother or sister. A Grecian and Roman family name. New York Botanical Garden suggests that the genus name instead comes from Ptolemy Philadelphus, a king of the third century B.C.

Problems

Some susceptibility to leaf spot, canker, powdery mildew and rust. Aphids, nematodes, scale and leaf miners are occasional visitors. Deer tend to avoid this plant.

Garden Uses

Foundation plantings, hedges, cottage gardens, shrub borders or low screens. This shrub has minimal ornamental interest when not in flower.


Courtesy of Missouri Botanical Society Plant Finder

News You Can Use

  • Plant Sale 2025 In-Person
  • 2ndEditionGarden Guide
  • Gardening is Fun
  • Gardening Questions click here v2
  • Let’s Grow – Revised Title Graphic click here
  • We_Appreciate_your_support_ad_v4 click here
  • Soil Test white click here

Find us on FACEBOOK

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service
Texas A&M University System Member
  • Compact with Texans
  • Privacy and Security
  • Accessibility Policy
  • State Link Policy
  • Statewide Search
  • Veterans Benefits
  • Military Families
  • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline
  • Texas Homeland Security
  • Texas Veterans Portal
  • Equal Opportunity
  • Open Records/Public Information