Philadelphus coronarius
Mock orange
Common names: Sweet mock orange, English dogwood
At a glance
- Light
- Full sun
- Hardiness
- Hardy
- Pruning
- Jun–Jul
- Flowering
- May–Jun
Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Rainer Bielefeld assumed (based o… · Public Domain · Source
Description
The mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) is a hardy flowering shrub commonly found in old farmyards. It earns the nickname "false jasmine" from its intense, sweet fragrance. Cream‑white, four‑petaled flowers appear in clusters along drooping branches from late May to late June. As a late‑blowing shrub, it sets its buds the previous year, so it blooms profusely only when pruning takes care to preserve older wood. The upright, summer‑green growth reaches 2 to 3 m tall, making it suitable as a flowering hedge or solitary specimen at the garden edge.
Care instructions
Plant the mock orange in a sunny to partially shaded spot with well‑drained, humus‑rich soil. Water newly planted shrubs regularly for the first two years; thereafter it tolerates drier periods. Prune immediately after flowering in June or July, removing especially old, woody stems close to the ground to keep the shrub open and encourage abundant next‑year blooms. A variety such as ‘Aureus’ adds a golden‑yellow foliage accent and tolerates slightly more shade than the green‑leafed wild type. Mulch in spring with leaf compost to retain root‑zone moisture and reduce watering needs.
The care notes were machine-translated from German.
Garden year
FloweringMay–Jun
Soil & site
Soil pH
Soil type
well-drained, humus-rich, nutrient-rich, loamy
The sweet mock orange likes fresh, humus-rich garden soil with good drainage. It grows noticeably worse on heavy, waterlogged ground, so improving the soil with compost at planting helps. Neutral to slightly acidic soil suits it best, but it also copes well with lime.
Feeding
Medium feeder
Months
Mar, May
In early spring, the sweet mock orange appreciates a helping of mature compost, worked in shallowly over the root zone. A second, light helping of compost after flowering in May supports the new growth for the coming year. This undemanding wild shrub normally needs nothing more.
Pruning
Prune the sweet mock orange straight after flowering in June or July, as it sets its buds for the following year in late summer. Remove the oldest, bare shoots close to the ground so that light and air reach the inside. This keeps the shrub loose and flowering reliably year after year.
Overwintering
The sweet mock orange is completely hardy in Central Europe and needs no special protection. Only freshly planted specimens benefit from a mulch layer over the root zone in their first winter. Old, woody shoots cope with frost without any trouble.
Propagation
Methods
- Cuttings
- Layering
The easiest way to propagate it is by hardwood cuttings, which you take in winter from one-year-old wood and grow on in seed compost until they sprout in spring. Layering also works well: cover a low-hanging shoot with soil and leave it to root for one to two years before you separate it.
For your garden
Grow Mock orange yourself
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