Philadelphus Dame Blanche - Mock Orange

The Philadelphus 'Dame Blanche' is an old variety of Mock Orange that stands out for its small growth, its gracefully arched branches, its very bushy vegetation and its beautiful floribundus. The bush almost disappears in June-July under a profusion of small, single or double white flowers, gathered in small pleasantly scented clusters. Like all mock oranges, 'Dame Blanche' is a robust, deciduous, hardy bush, very easy to grow in ordinary soil in sun or semi-shade. Place it in a cottage-style bed or a small free hedge, along a path, under a window, or even in a large pot on the terrace!

Philadelphi are all deciduous bushes native to the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere, particularly the Far East and North America. The some 60 species that make up this genus were cross-bred, first in France, then in the United States, the scent of the flowers sometimes forgotten along the way in favour of more spectacular double blooms... Not demanding, mock oranges are sometimes a little slow to settle in. They will need regular pruning after flowering, removing the oldest stems so that they maintain a beautiful habit and remain very floriferous.

The mock orange Dame Blanche is a horticultural hybrid obtained by Victor Lemoine (1823 -1911), a genius hybridiser from Nancy, France, also known for his lilacs, clematis and shrub peonies, all creations that still exist, many of which remain unrivalled.
'Dame Blanche' is a bushy, stocky bush, with a bushy and arched habit reaching on average 1.30 m (4 ft 4 in) in all directions at maturity, with a rather slow growth for a mock orange, in the order of 15 to 25 cm (5.9 to 9.8 in) per year. Some of the small flowers on a same bush can be single and others double. 2.5 cm (1 in) wide, they bloom in June-July for about a month. They are rarely solitary, most often gathered in small clusters of 2 to 5 charming flowers. They are particularly numerous and deliver a medium intensity scent reminiscent of orange blossom. The small, deciduous leaves are dark green, slightly dentate, 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) long. They are entire, arranged oppositely on the branches and characterised by their ovate shape, their pointed extremity and the lighter longitudinal veins running through the lamina.


Adapted to all types of gardens and very easy to grow, this Dame Blanche is ideal for beginner gardeners. It likes a sunny or semi-shaded location and is content with ordinary soil, even limestone. Of modest stature, very bushy, 'Dame Blanche' will be perfect in the background of mixed-borders, in combination with other bushes, at the forefront of a cottage-style flowering hedge, or even grown in a pot on the terrace or balcony. Consider planting it near the house, terrace,or paths to make the most of its intense fragrance. Planted in semi-shade, it will light up the garden with the whiteness of its flowers. Its flowering period being quite brief, consider combining it with bushes with earlier or later flowering (Deutzia, Buddleia, Forsythia, Caryopteris, lilac, False-aralia…) Allow a small clematis to climb in its branches, surround it with a Fairy rosebush (pink, red or white), which will give a wild and charming look to your display. Its white flowering also allows beautiful combinations with blue flowering perennials (or white, for the beauty of a virginal garden).