Side by side

Mock orange or weigela? How to tell them apart

Philadelphus coronarius · Weigela

How to tell them apart – mock orange: shrub with opposite, toothed leaves and white flowers in June with a heady orange-blossom scent; weigela: bell-shaped pink or red flowers without a strong scent.

Updated on 10 October 2026

Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Rainer Bielefeld assumed (based on copyright claims)., Public domain · source

Mock orange Philadelphus coronarius

Photo: Łukasz Szczurowski, CC BY-SA 3.0 · source

Weigela Weigela

How do you recognise them?

Mock orange: Shrub with opposite, toothed leaves and white flowers in June with a heady orange-blossom scent.
Weigela: Shrub with bell-shaped pink or red flowers in May–June.; Compared with mock orange: bell-shaped pink or red flowers without a strong scent.

Mock orange and weigela side by side
	Mock orange	Weigela
Leaves	Opposite, 4–8 cm, oval with a pointed tip, finely toothed, with 3–5 veins running from the base to the tip.	Opposite, oval, 5–10 cm, toothed.
Flowering	Creamy white flowers (3 cm) with four petals and yellow stamens, in June; double forms too (June).	Trumpet-shaped pink, red or white flowers in May–June, sometimes a second flush (May–June).
Fruit	Small brown capsules.	Small capsules.
Bark	Brown twigs; older stems with peeling bark.	Greyish-brown.
Shape and height	Shrub, 2–3 m	Shrub, 1.5–3 m
Site	Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal	Sun or partial shade, any garden soil, normal
Native to Belgium	No, planted	No, planted
Good for bees, butterflies and birds	Yes, for bees	Yes, for bees
Poisonous to people and pets	Not known to be poisonous	Not known to be poisonous
Pruning months	July	June–July

What does it mean for your garden?

Choose what suits your soil, your light and the space you have: see the growing conditions in the table.

Read on

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This comparison is compiled from the Bladwijzer species pages.