i look forward to it each fall! mine has been (sparsely) blooming for a couple of weeks but it is in full flower now. the temps are warmer than they have been in a couple of weeks and this affects its intensity. i can smell it when i get out of my vehicle in the afternoon on a dry, sunny day. it reminds me of apricot and is sometimes powerful.
my shrub also has the creamy yellow flowers and is the species, o. fragrans.
interesting - i have never heard o. americana called that!
mine has never bloomed but is not a large plant.

I have one in my greenhouse and the fragrance is fantastic, akin to apricot jam.

Kathy

Practice to post a picture.

Here is a link that might be useful:

longriver,

That is beautiful!!! None of mine ever have that many blooms on it.
Which osmanthus is that?

longriver, that's really impressive. Is that grown in a container or in ground?

I have four seasons and Fudingzhu in containers, now they are blooming all the time, but never that much blooms. I also have an autumn blooming osmanthus for two years, but it hasn't bloomed yet.

It is in ground, facing morning sun. No question about that container causes some limitation to the plant. The plant is about 8 feet and well established. I do not water it often. Do you know that there are two kinds of Fudingzhu, large leaves and small leaves. You may guess what type you have by comparing it to that of other Osmanthus.

Can you tell me 4 season Osmanthus blooms from now to when?

My fudingzhu leaves are kind of narrower than regular Osmanthus, so I guess it's small leaves. Are there any difference between these two? Mine is just barely established, didn't see many flowers yet.

My 4 seasons is great, it's in a large container, blooming all the time, I can't really tell when it's not blooming. The only time I don't see flowers is during spring when the new growth is emerging. In general, it's blooming for about 8 to 9 months.

There are so many Osmanthus cultivars in China. They list traditional 62 old cultivars. There are 37 newly regestered ones. Early this year, I had a chance to visit Professor Xiang Q B and Liu Y L, at Nanjiang Forest University. They published many papers about wild cultivars, old cultivars and newly registered cultivars in different parts of China.

I start to collect only a few available cultivars. I hope eventually to collect more including four major groups: 4 season, silver, gold( more yellow) and orange( more red).

I have a small rooting of 4 season. But the best ones in this group are:

1. O. fragrans 'TianxiangTaigui" --- Heavenly fragrance pagoga.

2. Osmanthus fragans 'Tiannusanhua' --- Angel tossing flowers

The most orange one is called O fragans 'Zhuangyuanhong'

I read somewhere that O. fragans 'Nanjing's Beauty' is synonymous with 'Fudingzhu' - is this true? I bought one two years ago and it is flowering nicely (in a pot). I've also had a 'Thunbergii' (in the ground) for a few years but it's never flowered. I have just moved it to a site with more sun.
I pruned this particular bush fairly regularly - do you think this affected flower production?
Also, how difficult is it to root any cuttings? What is the proper procedure?
Thanks for any info.

A nursery near my house has both Nanjiang Beauty and Thunbergii. Owner told me that his large Thunbergii has never flowering. I did see his white flowers of Nanjiang beauty. I have never seen any reference that Nanjing Beauty and Fudingzhu are the same cultivar. I do not know this issue. I am just interested in the fragrant flower but with very limited knowledge. The flowers of Osmanthus cultivars are very similar unless you are an experienced Osmanthus grower.

In general severe prune will affect my camellia and my fruit tree. I made moderate prune to open the center, It does not affect the bloom of my large Osmanthus in ground.

Use a clean pot and moist perlite in a enclosed ziplock. Set it by window received bright light or some filtered sunlight. Use new brunches( not too soft ones), about 5 inches with rooting power on the slope cutting end. You can leave only 3-4 leaves. Let it set there for 2 months. Make sure that the set up will not getting too hot( warm is ok). You can pullout the branches to examine the callus after 3-4 weeks. If the there is a resistance to pull, means the root is reaching out.

My husband and I spent a few days in Charleston just before Thanksgiving. The tea olives (fragrans) were in bloom and I found out to my amazement and horror that I do not like their scent! I was the only one--my husband and our friends from grad school days thought the fragrance was wonderful.

To appreciate my problem, you will have to know that I fell in love with Osmanthus by reading about it. I had the idea of ordering a tea olive next spring but because we are just so far north, I planned to order an x fortunei also.

What I need to know is how similar the fragrances of the different osmanthus are? Can you who are familiar with different varieties help me? Also, if your initial reaction to a fragrance is negative, does that ever change?

It is absolutely natural that you do not like the scent. That is why a perfume shop has so many kind of perfumes on display. Our olfactory perception is very personal. If you do not like it, you really do not need to like it. There are so many kinds of sweet aroma on this earth.

Most camellia sasanqua flowers have a typical earthy and moldy ordor to me . Yet many think that sasanqua is fragrant. Most people like the fragrance of a hybrid camellia called High Fragrance. I remember that one person indicates the different experience. The aroma literaly makes her of a sick feeling. Sometimes if the fragrance is too intense or " over-rippen, the scent can be changed to unpleasant. Every one like the fragrant flower of Michelia alba. If I collect many M. alba in an enclosed container for for a few hours then the fragrance becomes a undesirable ordor. There is another personal factor that you might be very sensitive to certain elements of the natural chemicals of this flower. Then your perception to Osmanthus is different from others. Yet our personal previous experience with a similar ordor under a condition of pleasant or unpleasant will render us to like or dislike the scent of flower. I am far from understanding of fragrance. I am just learning the background about fragrance for the purpose of growing my fragrant flowers.

Thank you for your thoughtful reply, longriver. I can't help feeling disappointed though.

I know that the senses of taste and smell are related. I can remember clearly that I once did not like the taste of oysters. Now I love them. The same is true of cherry pie and asparagus. Perhaps if I vacation every November in a place that I can find osmanthus, if I seek it out, I will learn to like the smell.

This sounds like an excellent scientific experiment to me. Charleston was beautiful and I would like to see Savannah. Do you think I can get my husband to go for it?

Ho, Ho, Ho, what a great idea.

However if I you and your husband shall visit my garden in California, I will have other fragrant flowers to treat you( not Osmanthus).

Thank you longriver. Your garden sounds magnificent!

Nanjing's Beauty is a cultivar of Four Season Osmanthus marketed in North America by Piroche Nursery in Canada. It is not Fudingzhu. I have both but I can not quite tell the difference between them. They are both more floriferous than regular Osmanthus fragrans.

Hello Longriver:
Would you mind telling me the name and address of the nursery that carries the two kinds of osmanthus you described?
Many thanks.

Hi! #1, The nursery is Moraga Garden Center at city of Moraga, Ca. Call kent at 925-376-1810.

Thank you very much, Longriver. I will call tomorrow. Best wishes.

It bothers me that I do not know that the name of this Osmanthus. I keep on checking a few references, based on the appearance of flower and leaves and the time of flowering. I am making only a "guess" to be Osmanthus fragrans 'Wandianjin', meaning Ten Thousands of Gold Pieces. This cultivar is considered a new one( only possible about 20 years, not 200 years) in China. The tree can be found in the city of Nanjiang and Hangzhou. It belongs to yellow type Osmanthus. The flowering time from late September to late October. There was no secondary blooming. I found that it was a few left-over flower buds.

Hi, Long River,
I am set to buy some Osmanthus this coming spring. I am in Central VA now, which is a little colder than my home town, Wuhan, China. I saw Osmanthus grow like forest in Hubei Province. I don't know whether osmanthus is hardy enough to survive VA's winter. I am in Zone 7.

Anyway, I will try them out this spring. Do you have any suggestions for planting and care? Full sun or shade? soil condition? or whatever.

Thanks,

Kai

A city called XianLing, slightly south of Wuhan is one of five major Osmanthus (Gui Hau) horticulture centers in China. There are over 2,000 old Osmanthus trees found in that region, not too far from your home town. I grow plant by following basics. But I also like to try something new.

This is what I am thinking as if in your shoes. I know that central Virginia can be very cold for a few days in case of freezing and heavy snow. Baically Osmanthus can stand a short duration of freezing. If your plant is a small bush, you might first grow it in a 5 gal pot like a nursery. You can move it indoor at a bright area during cold winter days. Do not over water it during the winter. It is reported that there are over 400 pots of Osmanthus plant in Yi Ho Emperor Garden, Beijing. They are sheltered indoor during the winter.

If the plant is getting bigger later, you can find a ground spot, close to your house at south side facing winter sun. You may even utilize a very large sheet of bubbled polyfilm to wrape the plant nicely and mulch the ground heavily in order to help a small young plant to survive the cold.

Kai,
I am in zone 7b, our low temperatures over the past few years have been around 17 degrees (or lower-this temperature was what the city reported and I live in the country with no buildings to block the wind and no concrete to hold the warmth). I have never seen any damage to Osmanthus fragrans and there are 36 in my yard. The blooms freeze off, but the foliage is not damaged. I have found that this plant grows better with a lot of sun. The best looking plants are around my rose garden which is a full sun area. It will bloom in full shade but will not have many leaves or many branches. It will survive with no additional watering, there are 4 in my yard that have not had water in the last 2 years even though we've had a major drought down here in Texas. My soil is acid, but I do not know what Osmanthus prefer.
You could do what Longriver suggested by pulling the pots in until you got a good sized plant, or you could plant it in the spring and let it get established before the winter. I don't think that they are as tender as most sources say they are or there would be more damage on my plants during the winter. All of my plants were bought in 1 gallon pots and planted in mid-winter 2 years ago.
Carrie

I am taking the notes from cweathersby. It is very valuable first-hand information.

Osmanthus is selected as city flower for at least 25 cities in China. The most warm city is Kaohsiung, Taiwan Province, in the tropical zone. Osmanthus found in the colder area in China (still has 18 Osmanthus cultivars) is Henan Province that is north of Wuhan. Most wild Osmanthus forest or bush land can be found along Yangtze River where would be possible zone 7a&b.

I went to a Flower and Nursery Shop at Berlekey, Ca yesterday. I bought my yellow one from them over 10 years ago. The owner has been retired and many plants in his green houses are in survival mode. His son found a last one of tiny small Osmanthus. It shall have white flower but no name. I am happy to collect this new one.

Kaihui, the blooming time of most Osmanthus will not affected by freezing except four season type. However four season Os has extened flowering time.

Last winter, we had few nights that dropped to single digit. In Wuhan, occationally we had -10 C, that's about 12 F. So I figure as long as the temp does not drop to singel digit, Osmanthus should be OK.

Yes, I know Xianning is known for its Osmanthus. People there make Osmanthus cakes.

Anyway, I will plant some Osmanthus this spring. The delimma I have is whether I should plant them in ground right away or put them in pots first. I will buy 1 gallon size. I thought that it's better to put them in ground when they are young so they don't go through a shock when I replant them. Maybe I am wrong.