States
North CarolinaTennesseeGeorgiaSouth CarolinaKentuckyAlabamaFloridaVirginia
Menu

Hairy Mock-orange

Philadelphus hirsutus

Found in bluffs, rock outcrops, rocky woodlands, often with seepage, over mafic or calcareous rocks. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 94%

Height
6–10 feet
Spread
3–4 feet
Light
Full sun, Partial shade
Soil moisture
Usually moist

Space about 3.5 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 8 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count

Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial
Leaves
Deciduous
Bloom
April to May
Fruiting season
June to August

Recorded in 20 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 4

Glades, barrens and outcrops on limestone

Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County
Limestone cedar glade. Shown: Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, Catoosa County, Georgia, a neighboring state.Cedar Glade Number 5, Chickamauga and Chattanooga NMP, Catoosa County, Alan M. Cressler / U.S. Geological Survey, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Forests and woodlands

Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain.
Named place / source context. Shown: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, Georgia, a neighboring state.Trail on Little Kennesaw Mountain., Unidentified in HFC record, undated. Public domain. Source record.

Glades, barrens and outcrops on mafic or serpentine rock

Open, thin-soil openings, outcrops and cliffs on dark, magnesium- or iron-rich rock such as serpentine, diabase or gabbro.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 111 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Philadelphus

  • Cenopis diluticostanaSpring Dead-Leaf Roller Moth, Oak Cenopis
  • Euchlaena johnsonariaJohnson's Euchlaena
  • Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
  • Metarranthis duariaRuddy Metarranthis
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
2BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Philadelphus

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
—BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Hydrangeaceae
Hardiness
Zones 5a–9b
Flower color
White
Fruit begins
June
Fruit ends
August

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
Also known as

Cumberland Mock Orange; Hairy Mock Orange

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

Will it fit your yard?

Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.

Choose a county to begin.

How to check your spot

Sources