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Philadelphus
Also called Mock-oranges, Syringa, Mockorange
Philadelphus is a genus of about 60 shrub species, mostly deciduous, grown for their fragrant white late spring flowers. Garden mock oranges are typically full-sun shrubs that need little attention once established.
Philadelphus () (mock-orange) is a genus of about 60 species of shrubs from 3–20 ft (1–6 m) tall, native to North America, Central America, Asia and (locally) in southeast Europe.
They are named "mock-orange" in reference to their flowers, which in wild species look somewhat similar to those of oranges and lemons (Citrus) at first glance, and smell of orange flowers and jasmine (Jasminum). But Philadelphus is a basal asterid, not closely related to Jasminum (advanced asterids), and among the eudicots quite distant from Citrus (advanced rosids). An entirely misleading name for Philadelphus that is sometimes encountered is syringa; this properly refers to the lilacs, which are fairly close relatives of jasmine.
For a long time, Philadelphus coronarius was the only mock-orange of gardens, though some adventurous Americans grew the native P. inodorus that Mark Catesby had discovered growing on the banks of the Savannah River. It appeared in Lady Skipwith's garden lists and George Washington ordered some from Bartram in 1792. Mock-oranges are popular shrubs in parks and gardens, grown for their reliable display of late spring flowers; the scented species are particularly valued. In addition to the species, there are numerous garden origin hybrids and cultivars available, selected for doubleness and large flowers, with some compromise as to scent.
Mock-oranges are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including the engrailed (Ectropis crepuscularia). A noted pathogen of the sweet mock-orange (P. coronarius) is the undescribed proteobacterium called "Pseudomonas tomato" (pv. philadelphi).
Sweet mock orange · Lewis' mock orange · Littleleaf mock orange
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Philadelphus by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
