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Garden Gate:  Mock Orange Bush  |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
 Posted - Aug 30 2005 : 4:49:22 PM
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Hi -
I have a Mock Orange Bush that is 6 years old and it has only bloomed a small amount. It gets plenty of sun, well drained soil and not too much fertilizer because I hear they don't like to be over fed. I have pruned it some, but I keep finding conflicting information as to when it is the best time to prune (fall or spring) and what should I take out - old growth, new stuff, clean out the middle? Please help me. I remeber as a kid my mom had one of these on the farm and bloomed beautifully and smelled wonderful. I would really like mine to do the same. |
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Eileen
True Blue Farmgirl
1199 Posts
Eileen
USA
1199 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 09:06:10 AM
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Anne,
My mother had one of these in Spokane in the backyard right up next to the house beside her bedroom window. The dog always dug his cool bed under it in the summer and the fragrance would waft in throught the open bedroom window filling the house with its fruity smell. I loved it. Have never been successful getting one to grow here in the Kitsap area and have not tried yet here in the Quilcene area where we are now. All I remember is that it was not in full sun any time of the day so it must have been a north wall. It was always moist under it and she never prunned it. The soil there was mostly sand and she used fish emulsion fertilizer on everything. They grow wild all over Idaho in the cool shady areas so I think they must thrive on neglect.. Think I will try another one this next spring. It brings back such fine memories.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
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AnnieT
True Blue Farmgirl
287 Posts
Annie
287 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 12:07:08 PM
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My mom's mock orange is also in a shady corner of the yard, crammed in with the spirea. She only cuts off the obviously dead wood, and usually does it in the spring when she can tell what's alive. She has alkaline clay soil. Her bush (tree, really) is many years old.
Just found this site, with a similar problem as yours:
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/mockorange.htm
http://www.humeseeds.com/efm_o.htm |
Edited by - AnnieT on Aug 31 2005 12:08:49 PM |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 3:02:38 PM
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| Thanks AnnieT for the link to the thegardenhelper. My bush needs to be pruned a bit and according to the sight I guess that would be now. Just like your Mom's, mine had one on the East side of the house, shoved in a corner with very little care and it bloomed all the time. So when I got mine, I put it on the East side of the house in a corner. It's 8 feet tall now, but not many blooms. Hopefully I get the proper pruning technique down and it will bloom more. Thanks again for the help. |
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katie-ell
True Blue Farmgirl
1818 Posts
Katie
Illinois
1818 Posts |
Posted - Aug 31 2005 : 3:20:19 PM
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| I prune mine in the spring when I can see the deadwood; to shape the bush, I prune right after flowering. It's good to take out some of the oldest canes occasionally. The mockorange is beautiful in bloom but can get quite a bit of winter kill and in need of a good spruce-up. I'm also finding seedlings everywhere around the perimeter my bush - in fact, I now have two since I let one group of seedlings grow up into a clump! |
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blanket of stars
True Blue Farmgirl
51 Posts
Kat
Hancock
NH
51 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2005 : 12:03:49 PM
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I'm confused - does a mock orange do better in sun or part sun ? Mine is in full sun - it was scraggly this year, and not as many blossoms....
thanks!
Kat. |
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asnedecor
True Blue Farmgirl
1054 Posts
Anne
Portland
Or
USA
1054 Posts |
Posted - Sep 20 2005 : 06:43:31 AM
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Kat -
My bush gets morning to early afternoon sun, then it is in shade the rest of the time. It is planted on the east side of my house. My mother's was planted the same way when I was kid on the farm. I have never seen one in full sun, most of them are in partial sun to some shade. Maybe moving it to an area where it gets shade at the hotest part of the day might help. Hey, but what do I know, still trying to get mine to bloom. Pruned it good last weekend, so we'll see how it does next year.
Anne
"Second star to the right, straight on till morning" Peter Pan
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Garden Gate: Mock Orange Bush |
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Mock Orange Bush
