Minnesota Snowflake Mock Orange

The Minnesota Snowflake Mock Orange is fragrant and beautiful, but it’s more than a pretty face. A real workhorse in your shrub beds, it’s the perfect size, 6 to 8 feet tall, for the back of a bed, and it looks great out on a lawn, too. Super-tough, and able to thrive in the pollution of inner city areas, Easy to grow and great for beginner gardeners, it’s a reliable shrub that should be in every garden. Hey, but let’s not forget the beauty of this plant. The arching branches grow up and out, making a fountain of charming leaves on red-brown stems, which turn a modest yellow in fall. As spring turns into summer, those branches burst into bloom, looking like there has indeed been a summer snowfall. Clusters of double flowers, each one packed with many pointed petals, sprout all along the branches, so profusely they almost hide the leaves entirely. In bloom in June and July, this shrub is a real charmer, and just begs you to bury your face among the deliciously-fragrant blossoms, redolent of citrus blossoms. Pollinating insects, butterflies and hummingbirds love it too, and will be drawn to your garden by their fragrance wafting in the breezes.

• Gorgeous double blooms of pure white in late spring and early summer
• Sweetly fragrant, similar to the smell of orange blossoms
• Attractive foliage on arching stems to around 7 feet tall
• Ideal for new gardens, urban gardens and every garden
• Fast-growing, tough, and resistant to urban pollution

Plant the Minnesota Snowflake Mock Orange in a spot with plenty of sun, as too much shade will reduce growth and blooming. It will grow in most soils, including poor urban soil and clay, but not in very wet soils. Only moderately drought tolerant, preferring a steady supply of water, especially when young. It is deer resistant and generally stays free of any pests or diseases beyond the occasional aphid on new growth. Resistant to Japanese beetles. Best if pruned hard immediately after flowering, removing most of the branches that have flowered, leaving a framework of tall, arching branches to flower the following year. Leave new growth untouched and don’t shear into a ball.