No offense to natives but I’ve always found our native mock orange to be kind of a dull one note shrub. Sure, its showy in bloom and certain specimens can be sweetly fragrant but once its done blooming…yawn. What do you do with it? Instead plant this highly improved selection with enormous semi-double white sweetly fragrant flowers. Each blossom is fully 2″ across and they come in such abundance in June that whole 9′ x 8′ frame is flocked like an enormous wedding gown. Some repeat bloom through summer. Same wild habit as the species which is nice- but incredibly showy in bloom. Full sun to part shade in average, well drained soil. Drought adapted. Great scaffold for summer Clematis. Blooms on old wood, prune AFTER flowering if needed. Forms a distinctive large vase shape. Fall color is soft yellow and brief. Adaptable to both cultivated and feral/wild areas. Tough and climate adapted shrub. Oregon native plant.
Philadelphus lewisii ‘Snow Velvet’
Family: Hydrangeaceae Genus: Philadelphus