Philadelphus advice please

Hi Sue, P 'Beauclerk' grows to 8ft high, and the same spread,
P 'Belle Etoile grows to 4ft high spread 8ft, but the flowers on this are very fragrant, P'Bouquet Blanc' grows to 6ft high, spread 5ft, but I think my favourite would be, P 'Manteau d' Hermine, which has double, very fragrant, creamy white flowers, 1 1/2"across, usually in racemes of 3, in early and midsummer, unfortunately it only grows to 30", with a spread of 5ft, but there are several other species that grow to 5 or 6 ft max, Derek.

I do fancy a Manteau d'Hermine very much but it wouldn't do in the position I'm on about. I thought Belle Etoile would get to 5 feet but didn't realise it got so wide. Still, its a lovely thing. The problem would be that because there is no sun behind it because of a mature holly and some huge sycamores behind that on the west side that all the growth would be forwards, but I don't suppose that all eight feet would be on one side! It gets sun all day in front. I couldnd't find any others that grow to five feet or so - just googled Bouquet Blanc; I'd prefer a single - Bamboo has reminded me about the bees preferring them.
Decisions decisions...where would we be without our Goy friends?

Isn't Belle Etoile the one that smells like bubble gum?
Its a lovely creamy white witha pink centre if I have the right one, it seemed fine in my cold windy garden and could be pruned if it got out of hand. ....I say thst because where it was in the garden was previously a horse manure heap......gosh it was fertile!

Bubble gum? Can't remember what that smells like! The site where this one's going is where the privet was, so fertile it isn't - will do my best to hearten it up though.

Hi Sue, a few ideas for you to look at, the ist below gives the height first, followed by the spread,
P 'Avalanche' 5'x10' , 'Boule d'argent' 5 x5, Buckley's Quill' 6 x 4,
'Dame Blanche' 6 x 6, 'Girandole' 5 x 5, ' Glacier' 5 x 5, 'Lemoinei 5x5,
'Silberregen' 4 x 5, hope this helps, Derek.
Pam, P 'Belle Etoile' is described as having long, single, cup shaped, very fragrant white flowers 2inches across, marked pale purple in the centres, but I suppose scent depends largely on the individual, not everyone gets the same smell, from the same plant, Derek.

I guess not.....its a lovely shrub, but most philsdelphus are.....

Oh dear Derek, I thought I'd made up my mind - back to the drawing board while I google all those...

Done that now, a very enjoyable 10 mins! They are all so lovely its a pity there isn't room for several of them.I never knew there are so many. I am going to be strong minded and stick with a single because of the bees, which makes it easier to choose!

Very many thanks to you all.

Hi Sue, glad to be of assistance, and glad you enjoyed looking at them, and they're only the shorter ones!, Derek.

Lol Derek!

would love a philadeplphus so will follow this closely

Well Fran, to keep you up to date I ordered mine yesterday!

look forward to hearing how it goes; I'd like mine in the front, in place of the shrub that just sits there and sulks.

Did you discover what that shrub is Fran?

not yet, Stera!

Hi I have P. Belle Etoile ( some pics on my pages) its been in a couple of years and did throw up some long stems this year at least 5 foot, its in fairly sandy top soil we had to bring in to fill a big hole, it smelt lovely this year and it seems to keep its leaves well its still very green for time of year, hope this may help :)) ps its my favourite shrub, the flowers are just beautiful :))

Thanks Daylily. It arrived yesterday, a nice plant in a 3l pot from Crocus. Yes, I was surprised to see it still had lots of green leaves. Planted it in the drizzle this afternoon - I hope its happy! The label said expected size is 4' by 8'wide - every supplier seems to give a different estimate but I don't care as long as it grows well and Flowers! If it gets too wide I'll just reduce the lawn again.

Great Sg, hope it does well for you :))