Pruning Mock Orange

Mock orange flowers on wood produced the previous year, so timing is critical: prune in July, immediately after the blooms have faded. Pruning later in summer or in winter will remove next year's flowering shoots and leave you with a green shrub and no scent. The goal is to keep the plant open, healthy, and floriferous. Start by removing any dead, damaged, or crossing branches entirely, cutting back to a main stem or to ground level. Then identify the oldest stems—those that are thick, dark, and producing fewer flowers—and cut up to one-third of them right down to the base. This encourages vigorous new growth from the roots, which will flower abundantly the following summer. Mock orange responds very well to this kind of renewal pruning and can become congested and flower-shy if left unpruned for years. After removing the old wood, shorten the stems that have just flowered by about one-third, cutting just above a healthy outward-facing bud or side shoot. This keeps the overall shape tidy and encourages branching lower down. Use clean, sharp secateurs for stems up to pencil thickness, and a pruning saw for anything thicker. If your mock orange has become overgrown or neglected, you can renovate it hard in July by cutting the entire shrub down to 30–50 cm from the ground. It will resprout vigorously and should flower again within two years. Water and mulch well after hard pruning to support recovery.