Students for Stewardship The Cork Board
← Back to the library

Lemoine Mockorange

Philadelphus (fil-a-DEL-fus le-MOI-nee-i)

Family: Hydrangeaceae Non-native Shrub (3-15 ft)

Mock Orange is a hybrid deciduous shrub with an upright arching habit growing 4-8 feet tall. The flowers are amazingly fragrant. They occur in terminal racemes of up to 1.5-inch saucer-shaped flowers. This shrub prefers moist well-drained soils in sun to part sun. Prune after flowering to control the size of the shrub and plant near a door to enjoy the fragrance! Can be susceptible to: aphids, blackspot, powdery mildew, rust

Source: NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox ↗ NC State Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox, 45 attributes.

How it fits the guild

Guild layer 3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
See companions & conflicts ↓

Companions & Conflicts

Curated pairwise relationships between this plant and others in the library — who feeds whom, who competes, who confuses the pests. Green reads as a good pairing, red as one to avoid.

No curated interactions recorded for this species yet.

Also noted by NC State

Related species the NC State Plant Toolbox flags for this plant — look-alikes to tell apart, and plants that play a similar role in a planting. Ones we carry in the library are linked.

Fills a similar niche Itea virginica 'Henry' s Garnet' Viburnum carlesii Viburnum carlesii 'Compactum'

Full plant profile

Growing Conditions
Plant type
Shrub
Life cycle
Woody
USDA zones
5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
Light
Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day) | Partial Shade (Direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)
Soil texture
Clay; Loam (Silt); Sand
Soil drainage
Good Drainage
NC region
Coastal; Mountains; Piedmont
Mature size
Height: 6 ft. 0 in. - 10 ft. 0 in. | Width: 5 ft. 0 in. - 8 ft. 0 in.
Growth rate
Medium
Maintenance
Medium
Canopy layer
3 - Shrub (3-15 ft)
Form & Appearance
Habit / form
Arching; Mounding
Texture
Medium
Foliage
Deciduous
Leaf color
Green
Leaf type
Simple
Leaf arrangement
Opposite
Leaf shape
Elliptical
Leaf feel
Soft
Leaf size
1-3 inches long, < 1 inch wide
Hairs present
Yes
Leaf detail
Up to 2 inches long narrowly oval leaves have smooth green upper sides and hairs on the undersides. Tips are acute (pointed).
Flower color
White
Flower value
Fragrant
Flower form
Raceme
Flower shape
Cup
Flower size
1-3 inches
Flower detail
Flowers consist of 1-1.5 inch white flowers in 3-7 flowered terminal racemes. Bloom late spring to early summer.
Bloom time
Summer
Wildlife & Ecology
Native status
Non-native
Origin
Europe
Landscape Use
Landscape location
Lawn
Landscape theme
Children's Garden; Rain Garden
Design feature
Border; Hedge; Mass Planting
Garden tags
#deciduous #easy to grow #summer flowers #shrub #arching #fragrant flowers #full sun tolerant #partial shade tolerant #shrub border #bat friendly #moth friendly
Problems & Resistance
Resistant to
Pollution; Wet Soil
Propagation
Stem Cutting

Planted at Hunnicutt

Nobody’s planted this one yet.