Watch for improved mock orange from GardenGenetics

From GardenGenetics blog:

Most of us of a certain age remember the "mock orange" plants that were on every farmstead, or in every grandmother's shrub border.  Tall, leggy, mildew-prone plants --- but with such an intensely sweet fragrance when they bloomed in late May or early June that everyone grew them anyway.  I can remember harvesting mock orange for June weddings, and for high school proms. 

But oh, the plant. Traditional mock oranges -- Philadelphus species or hybrids -- are relatively tall, leggy shrubs and generally too tall for the modern landscape.  Their height certainly relegated them to the back of the border where the fragrance could still shine out, but where you could cover up their unsightly lower stems with smaller shrubs or perennials. 

And the foliage. Traditional Philadelphus varieties tended to be light- to mid-green, and tended to be susceptible to many leaf spots and mildews. We are choosing thick, dark-green leaves which retain healthy foliage all season-long. 

As we continue to work with Philadelphus, we are also finding seedlings which are variegated.  If these selections are stable, and can be produced reliably, we expect to release a few of these as well. 

G2X Philadelphus are being developed by Rick Grazzini, GardenGenetics' executive director, to address both the habit and the foliage problems. We are selecting experimental varieties with large, fragrant flowers; densely-branched compact habits; and season-long healthy dark-green foliage. 

The flowers of most of the G2X mock oranges are intensely fragrant, although some of the best habits and leaves are on selections which are only modestly fragrant. Flower forms range from wide, flat single-flowers, to medium-sized full-double flowers, and just about everything in-between. So far, flower color remains a bright creamy-white, but we are looking for colors. 

The first G2X Philadelpus are expected to be available for confidential 2015 trial. Contact G2 for more details.