I didn't know that. I will look into this species. I can't remember seeing different types in my Dirr Shrubs/Trees book. Thanks!

I planted one in 2001. It did not bloom at all... ever. It clearly was a mock orange, but for some reason was not happy. I root pruned it, pruned in the late summer after it should have bloomed, stopped fertilizing it as it was quite large, tried every trick in the book. It must have been asexual or something. Anyway, it is now in my compost pile. Strange though, as there is another one closeby which blooms happily every year. Sometimes, one gets a dud.

Probably you are talking about sooty mold. This is growing on the sugary secretions of the whiteflies and/or whatever other sucking pests are present. Focus on getting rid of the bugs. Control of whiteflies can be tough. Maybe search "organic whitefly control" or "whitefly control organic" etc. A heavy infestation might cause some branch dieback or defoliotion (abnormal dropping of leaves), I suppose, if that is what "slowly killing" consists of in this instance. Otherwise, maybe there is actually a third problem present.

Hello folks, I'm something of a connnoisseur of the Mock Oranges, n don't get on the site that often....anyhow, here's some things I've learned over the years from experience..... 1st off, many of the species available thru 'reputable' nurseries are not of pure strain (i.e. their integrity is 'shaded' or 'uncertain'). I have several forms, of which three I know are 'true blue' to their labeling. P. coronarius (and be careful with this one as well, see it in FULL flower to be sure, the flowers are white inside n out, n very fragrant if authentic, n old wood is chestnut brown outside) P. lemoinei X 'innocence' usually has some variagated leaves, is slower growing but flowers well n is perhaps one of the most fragrant mock orange scrubs I have....rivaling one of it's parents, P. coronarius for fragrance! Finally, there is P.lemoinei 'belle etoile' (Fr. Beautiful star) and this is a dependable bloomer has vigorous growth n has a purple splotch at the base of ea. flower, and is quite fragrant as well. I also have a form of P. lewisii from the N.W. U.S. that's in flower now, n is enchantingly fragrant. Hold it's flowers in panicles of a dozen or more at the end of ea. stem producing the flowers. This scrub was sold to me as cv. 'Goose Creek' but the description given now is of double flowers which the one I was sold was not! There are so many issues involved when dealing with retail growers that really have little or no knowledge of what their really obtaining and/or selling when it comes to this particular breed of scrubs!! Finally, I'd be dubibous, based on my own personal experience alone, from buying Mock orange scrubs from any retailer/wholesaler you don't have experience or knowledge of, 1st hand. Btw, I'd had the same problem with P.lemoinei 'virginal' from Wayside, and I wouldn't recommend buying ANY Mock orange 'Minnesota snowflake' scrubs, unless you see them in FULL flower.....I canned at least 6 scrubs I had bought yrs. ago, that failed to flower over many many years.... Brief, shop with much prudence!!