Myriad Botanical Gardens - Oklahoma City, USA

Common name: Mock Orange

Family: Hydrangeaceae (Hydrangea family)

Distribution: North America

Hardiness: 4a

Life form: Deciduous shrub/sub-shrub

Comments: A cold hardy, upright, deciduous shrub with arching branches, ‘Minnesota Snowflake’ is breathtaking in bloom in late spring or early, when it is covered with fragrant, double, white flowers. The flowers have a scent of sweet citrus, hense this shrub's common name. The leaves are medium to dark-green and slightly lighter beneath. If moisture is adequate, the flowers can continue sporadically across summer. After blooming, the plant is rather ordinary, and fall foliage is a mottled yellow-green. Grow in full sun for best growth and flowering, but it handles partial shade well. If it gets too tall or leggy, prune it back severely after flowering and allow it to rejuvenate over the growing season.