Common Purple Lilac vs Lewis Mock Orange - TreeTime.ca

Common Purple Lilac vs Lewis Mock Orange

Syringa vulgaris

Philadelphus lewisii

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

COMING SOON

(new stock expected: fall of 2026)

Common Purple Lilac
Lewis Mock Orange

Common Purple Lilac is a popular lilac. This large shrub provides excellent privacy or wind protection in an attractive package.

Lilac flowers are pleasantly fragrant and add a beautiful lavender colour to your property. Common Purple Lilac is cold hardy, easy to grow, and can tolerate most soil types.

Some people alternate villosa and common purple lilacs to create the impression that the hedge is in flower for almost a full month with the common purple flowering about 2 weeks sooner than the Villosa Lilac.

Lewis Mock Orange is a flowering ornamental shrub that produces an abundance of white, fragrant blooms. The flowers have a sweet scent similar to orange blossoms, with a hint of pineapple. They bloom for several weeks from late spring to early summer, attracting pollinators and other beneficial insects.

Native to North America, Lewis Mock Orange is found from the southernmost portions of Alberta and British Columbia, and south into the northwestern United States. It makes an attractive shrub and can be used in hedgerows, pollinator gardens, and naturalization projects. Blooms occur on the previous year’s wood, so it is recommended to prune after it has finished flowering.

Common Purple Lilac Quick Facts

Lewis Mock Orange Quick Facts

Zone: 2a
Zone: 4a
Height: 5 m (16 ft)
Height: 3 m (10 ft)
Spread: 2.7 m (9 ft)
Spread: 2.4 m (8 ft)
Light: full sun
Light: partial shade, full sun
Moisture: dry, normal
Moisture: dry, normal
Growth rate: fast
Growth rate: medium
Life span: medium
Life span: medium
Growth form: upright to arching, multi-stemmed
Spreading: suckering - medium, seeds - low
Suckering: medium


Flowers: dark purple, extremely fragrant
Flowers: fragrant, white
Bloom time: mid spring to early summer
Hybrid: no
Hybrid: no
Catkins: no
Catkins: no

In row spacing: 0.9 m (3 ft)

Between row spacing: 5 m (16 ft)
Native to: AB, BC
Other Names: common lilac, french hybrid lilac, lilac
Other Names: california mock orange, lewis mockorange, western mock orange, western syringa, wild mock orange