Kai -

2 - I've recently purchased Osmunthus fragrans 'Fudingzhu' and yellow-orange flower variation 'aurantiacus' from www.nurcar.com. I am supposed to receive the order later this week, so I will let you know how they look once I open the box. Looks like they are having summer sales on Osmanthus right now, too.

3 - I know what you mean. I grew up in Japan and the only Osmanthus I am familier with from my childhood is aurantiacus. They look very different from the ones I see in the US. I am really excited to find this yellow-orange flower variation online.

Good luck!
Snufkin

Hi, Snufkin,
Thank you very much for the response. The best I had in China was that yellow-orange like sweet olive. The fragrant is so powerful.

The ones I read on internet bloom year round (those guys live in CA or FL), but the ones I had in China only bloom in Fall (September or October), and some Chinese guys say they are much more fragrant that those that bloom year round.

It seems that 'aurantiacus' might be exactly the one I am looking for. I will give a go. The only thing I am worried about is its cold hardness. I live in VA.

Do you know what kind of soil it needs? My soil is clay, but well drained.

What is the size you have ordered?

Please do let me know how it looks once you receive it.

BTW, when I lived in NJ few years ago, I saw a nurcery run by a Chinese had sweet olive. He said he smuggled from China. That time I didn't buy it was because I was worried it wouldn't surve NJ winter.

Thanks,

Kai

these are very common here at local box store garden centers. if they are not sold at those outlets in your area it could be a hardiness issue.
my plants do not flower yearround. they bloom in the fall, as you mentioned.

I'd ask Nurcar about hardiness -- they've had more experience with different cultivars than most -- you could also try Camellia Forest in NC for plants and advice. I think they're only reliable in z8 and above, so I'd consider planting in a container and bringing it inside to enjoy the scent, or at the very least finding a well-protected location and giving it extra care during winters.

Enjoy!

Jim

If You have bitter cold weather, it is better to plant it in pot. You can keep it in a sheltered area indoor during cold days.

If you ever visited Yi Ho Yuan, Summer Palace in Bejiang you should see hundreds of plants in large pots. Many of them are Osmanthus. They keep them in green house or shelter during winter.

In southern China, there are tens of thousands of osmanthus trees of different cultivars about 20 to 30 feet in height planted as shade tree in city park of Huangzhou and Nanjiang, etc. The primitive type color is white, then creamy, then yellow or gold and then reddish orange.

In U S, you can get white and creamy color Os. In SF Bay Area and LA, many local nurseies have it.

I know there is an Osmanthus fragrans 'Aurantiacus' at Clemson University that went through the terrible cold SC had in the mid-80's. It took -4F with windchills well below 0,with very little leaf burn. It does seem to be more cold hardy than regular fragrans. The 'Fudingzhu' in my garden took 14F with a windchill of 6F this past winter and didn't seem hurt at all. Of course the length of the cold weather seems to be what determines the degree of damage. If you had severe cold for 5-6 days straight, the plant would probably receive more damage. I do remember that some of the Osmanthus fragrans(plain old white one) lost foliage in the mid 80's, but I don't remember any of them actually being killed, which is more than I can say for some Camellias, Eucalyptus, Loquats etc. I sure hope we don't see those kind of temps again. If you have an area of your garden that is a bit protected you might try planting it there in the spring so it would have a long season to put down a good root system. I hope you do well with it. The fragrance of 'Aurantiacus' is a bit more intense than 'Fudingzhu', but oh the 'Fudingzhu' blooms so much more.

Sorry for taking so long to respond...

I did get my order a few days ago. It's about 50 cm tall healthy looking plants. The ever blooming type came with lots of creamy white-yellow flowers and it smelled from outside of the box before I opened it. My Auranticus tree back in Japan was doing absolutely fine in heavy snow or ice storm. I think the climate of my home town is about the same as here in MD just outside of DC, so it should do absolutely fine unless you live on top of the mountain in VA.

Good luck!

Hi, Snufkin,
Thanks for the update.

I finally decided to buy those plants in the spring so they have enough time to develop the root system. I may be a little paranoid here as they are supposed to be cold hardy to zone 7, but I just hate to see I kill another plant.

Good luck to your new plants.

Kai

I can cry when I think what I did to my Osmanthus..I bought one about 5 yrs ago..it bloomed througout the year..summered outdoors and wintered in my cool bedroom in a south window..
I saw another type of Osmanthus with variegated leaves, bought it and planted together..Big mistake..I am now w/o an Osmanthus..I can kick myself..plants are precious to me, and losing one because of a dumb idea really bothers me..Toni

Hi, Toni,
Sorry to hear the mishap of your Osmanthus. What happened to them? Why did they die?

In China, I saw a forest of Osmanthus trees. They were OK with each other.

Kai

Kai, I'm thinking the two just didn't mix together well. The Osmanthus fragans was fine before adding the variegated type. If I ever get another, I'll never do that again.
I think www.plantdelights.com sells Osmanthus.. I know Logee's does, but they're small plants..Toni

Lowes' in Texas used to carry Osmanthus F. The flower color is pale yellow and turn into white over time. The fragrance is very good, particularly when it is humid. In Texas, it flowers in later winter, say in February and march. It is everygreen and weather the winter pretty well.