Mature Height: 5-7'
Mature Spread: 4-6'
Water Requirements: Low
Exposure: Sun
Hardy To: 8,500'
Flower Color: White
Flower Season: Early Summer
Deer Resistance Rating: B (Seldom Severely Damaged, protect young specimans)
The blue-green, oval-shaped leaves and pleasing billowy habit (that can become somewhat vase-shaped with age) make this a perfect plant for a mixed-shrub planting or at the back of a perennial border in a naturalistic landscape.
Philadelphus lewisii was named in honor of the great western explorer Meriwether Lewis who first collected it in 1806 on their return trip to St Louis. In 1934, samples were collected in Alberta, Canada and brought to the USDA Research Station outside of Cheyenne, Wyoming. The samples were planted along with many other species of Philadelphus. (See its full native range here.)
The plant that later became known as ‘Cheyenne’ is still thriving today, after years of little or no care, while all the other species of mock orange have all perished.
