Mockorange

Quick facts

Mockorange varieties differ in flower size, fragrance, growth habit, leaf color, and hardiness.
Mockorange prefers the sun and moist, well-drained soil.
Cultivars recommended for Minnesota are 'Aureus’, ‘Blizzard’, ‘Buckley’s Quill’, ‘Miniature Snowflake’, ‘Minnesota Snowflake’, ‘Snowbelle’, and First Editions® Snow White™.

Four-petaled white flowers with yellow stamens of Blizzard mockorange — Single flower of ‘Blizzard’ mockorange

Mockorange (Philadelphus spp.) is a fragrant, white-flowering shrub native to Europe, Canada, and the western and northwestern United States.

Grown for its fragrant spring flowers, mock orange is used as a specimen plant and in groupings for borders and screens.

In spring, their fragrant flowers smell like orange blossoms.

Description

Blizzard mockorange shrub has a rounded shape with white flowers — ‘Blizzard’ mockorange round plant form

Dark green leaves on a branch of mockorange — Dark green mockorange leaves

Mature height: 2 to 10 feet
Mature width: 2 to 10 feet
Deciduous
Oval or rounded plant form
Medium growth rate
1- to 2-inch, white, sweetly-fragrant, four-petaled flowers in June; cultivars with double flowers have 8-30 petals
Small, non-ornamental, 4-valved woody seed capsules

Growing mockorange

Hardiness zone: 3 to 8, depending on cultivar
Full sun to light shade; best bloom occurs in full sun
Adaptable to sandy, loam, or clay soils
Moist, well-drained soil; avoid wet soils with poor drainage
Soil pH 4.0 - 7.0, but tolerates higher pH; Have your soil tested by the U of M Soil Testing Lab

Needs occasional pruning to maintain an attractive shape. Prune immediately after blooming ends.

Common problems

No serious pests and stresses
Japanese beetle-tolerant

Mockorange cultivars

Mockorange cultivated varieties can vary in plant characteristics, including flower size and fragrance, growth habit, leaf color, and plant hardiness. The following are recommended for Minnesota:

'Aureus': 6 feet tall by 5 feet wide, gold spring foliage, fragrant single flowers, compact growth
'Blizzard': 5 feet tall by 3 feet wide, fragrant single flowers in clusters, compact growth, good winter hardiness
Buckley's Quill': 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide, fragrant double flowers
'Miniature Snowflake': 3 feet tall by 2 feet wide, very fragrant double flowers, dwarf / compact growth
'Minnesota Snowflake': 8 feet tall by 6 feet wide, fragrant double flowers
'Snowbelle': 4 feet tall by 4 feet wide, very fragrant double flowers, compact growth
First Editions®Snow White™: 6 feet tall by 5 feet wide, fragrant double flowers in clusters, repeat bloom in spring and summer

White pointed flowers with visible yellow stamens of ‘Buckley’s Quill’ mockorange — Quill-like flowers of ‘Buckley’s Quill’ mockorange

Many-petaled white flowers of ‘Snowbelle’ mockorange — Double flower of ‘Snowbelle’ mockorange

Yellow-green leaves and white, four-petaled flowers of golden mockorange — Flowers and yellow spring foliage of golden mockorange (‘Aureus’)

Authors: Beth Berlin, Kathy Zuzek, and Julie Weisenhorn, former Extension educators

Reviewed in 2026