When to plant and prune Mock Orange
Mock Orange flowers from mid June to early July and the dates below cover planting, flowering and the pruning window.
Planting, flowering and pruning by region
Mock Orange is grown to the calendar rather than to the frost, so the same dates apply across the whole UK and every region below reads the same. Where a plant’s timings do follow the frost, Plot shifts them from the Midlands and Lowland Wales baseline using Met Office average frost dates.
| Where you are | Plant | In flower | Prune |
|---|---|---|---|
| South West Coast and Cornwall | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| South Coast and Channel | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Greater London (Urban Heat Island) | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| South East and Home Counties | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| East Anglia | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Midlands and Lowland Wales | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Wales and West Coast | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Northern England | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Scotland Lowlands and Central Belt | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Scotland Highlands and Islands | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Northern Ireland | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
| Channel Islands and Isle of Man | early October to mid November | mid June to early July | early July to late July |
Growing notes
Heavily scented white flowers in early summer - one of the strongest garden fragrances there is. Sizes vary widely by cultivar: large ones reach about 2.4m, 'Belle Etoile' around 1.5m, and dwarf forms such as 'Manteau d'Hermine' about 75cm, so choose to fit the space. Grows in sun or light shade.
At a glance
- Spacing
- 180 cm between plants
- Eventual height
- 240 cm
- Eventual spread
- 200 cm
- Hardiness
- H6
- Sun
- Full
- Frost tender
- No
- Grows in a container
- Yes, 45 litres or more
- Balcony rating
- 2 out of 5
Pruning: what to avoid
Mock orange flowers on stems made the previous year, so the classic mistake is a winter tidy-up, which removes every flower bud. Prune within a few weeks of flowering finishing in summer, while there is still time for new stems to ripen.
Pruning group
RHS pruning group 2: after flowering cut flowered stems back to a strong young shoot lower down, and remove about one in five of the oldest stems at the base
What usually goes wrong
- aphids (blackfly on shoot tips)
- leaf spot
- congested, unproductive old stems if never thinned
Related guides
Timings cross-checked against RHS guidance for mock orange.