The connection of the two shrubs lies in their introduction from Ottoman gardens to European ones, effected at the same time by the Holy Roman emperor's ambassador to the Sublime Porte, Ogier Ghiselin de Busbecq, who returned to Vienna in 1562.

For a long time, Philadelphus coronarius was the only mock-orange of gardens, though some adventurous Americans grew the native P. inodorus that Mark Catesby had discovered growing on the banks of the Savannah River.

[5] Mock-oranges are popular shrubs in parks and gardens, grown for their reliable display of late spring flowers; the scented species are particularly valued.

In addition to the species, there are numerous garden origin hybrids and cultivars available, selected for doubleness and large flowers, with some compromise as to scent.

The following hybrid cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit:-[6] Lewis' mock-orange (P. lewisii) is the state flower of Idaho.