Philadelphus 'Belle Étoile'
mock orange (syn. Philadelphus Belle Etoile)
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- Standard £7.95
This shrub is deciduous so it will lose all its leaves in autumn, then fresh new foliage appears again each spring.
- Position: full sun or partial shade
- Soil: moderately fertile, moist but well-drained soil
- Rate of growth: average
- Flowering period: June to July
- Hardiness: fully hardy
In June and July this lovely mock orange is smothered with highly fragrant, single, cup-shaped flowers with distinctive splashes of purple at the centre. The delicious orange-blossom fragrance floats on the breeze on warm summer evenings. This compact variety produces abundant, gorgeous, bridal-white flowers set off perfectly by oval, deep green leaves. This is an essential, low-maintenance shrub for a sunny mixed border, and it can also cope with poor soil, urban pollution and salt-laden air.
When planting, mix some well-rotted garden compost into the excavated soil of the planting hole and dust the plant’s rootball with mycorrhizal fungi. Water in well and keep well watered during warm, dry periods. Mulch around the roots in spring with a deep layer of well-rotted garden compost or manure. Prune in late summer, immediately after flowering, removing one in four of the older stems to ground level.