Wow, Mike!
You are so lucky to have such a huge Sweet Olive!
My little Osmanthus fragrans 'Fudingzhu' is currently also blooming.
I can't wait for it too get bigger like yours! :)

-Robert

Look at all the flowers and 7 feet tall? That's an awesome tree. Do you summer it outside? When can it stay outside in New England? The 'Fudingzhu' I got from Logee's are also soing very good - it start new buds and new leaves - but the flower has almost no scent - maybe the tree is too small - can not wait it grow - I won't ask a lot - 3 feet is good. :)

Nice, Mike! You could try growing it espalier style, so to speak, with a wider canopy... giving it more horizontal room to grow than vertical. I'm a little height challenged in my growing space, too.

Still waiting on "Minerva" to unfurl her beauty... should be any day now! I can't wait! The old guy is going to help me take new photos on his phone so I can save them and upload for sharing. I think I forgot my camera up north.

As always, Mike, solid growing work! It's a beautiful tree!

I'm going to curl up and hide now... I still feel pretty crappy from this cold/flu thing... I hope no one else gets it. It's very harsh!

Hi MM! Just stopping by to say hello! My gardenia actually has a bunch of buds on it right now, I can hardly believe it! Really! I'm not fibbing! I've been thinking of getting a fragrant olive, but I just got finished killing off another rosemary plant, so I must take time to mourn. For some reason I absolutely cannot keep them alive! I also seem to suck at overwintering my blood orange, almost killed my poor arabequina olive, and came close to murdering my winter jasmine. I keep it alive during summer, spring and fall, but that winter dormancy thing almost does them (and me in) every time. Now I'm hoping to find out how to flower my amazon lily without killing it of course, lol! Happy New Years MM!! :D

First I want to say HAPPY NEW YEARS in 2013 to all of my Fragrant Forum friends.
Mike,
I am glad you are enjoying the fragrance of your sweet olive, it is intoxicating, isn't it?

Mersipoo, Happy New Year to YOU! Long time no see here in the fragrant forum! Glad your gardenia is still alive and has buds! Hope everything lasts through the winter.

Now Mike, if we could just bottle that fragrance....
we would make a fortune!
Most of mine have been blooming since Novemeber, i love the fragrance on a warmish humid night.
I think besides gardenia, they are my favorite!
Spring is comminggggg......

My goodness, it's two long lost friends!
I wish you would come by more often Butterfly4u and Merciepoo!

Happy New Year to you's too:-)

Yes, the tree is lovely, but now I must sacrifice the flowers at the expense of keeping it free from mites!
I was bad and kept this tree out for as long as I could and never treated it before I brought it in.

Now, I am getting massive amounts of NEW leaf drop, and upon close examination, guess what I saw? ARG
I just sprayed this a.m and I hope it takes care of most of the mites.
You are right, what a pleasure to see these trees in bloom with such a nice smell. Intoxicating it is.

Oh, on a warmish kind of humid night, it must permeate your yard! I would love to experience that:-0)

Butterfly, how are your denia's doing? The ones planted outside. You do have an orange Osmanthus right? Wow!
So good to see you around and I should say the same for Merciepoo!

Merciepoo..I think it's time to start threatening the Rosemary now..lol
You know how that works? Look at what it has done for your gardenia's..lol
When can I see a pic?
Where was I when you posted what you said above!?
I was beginning to worry about you, really!

I am sooooo sorry I never saw your post. I hope you see mine now..lol
I also have a possible plant for you and Butterfly if interested?

Many happy days to you both!:-))0

Just trying to be one of the first to raid the Caladium bulbs, I did a quick walk-through at WM yesterday and found myself looking for the source of a wonderful scent. It was a single Osmanthus fragrans shrub, just a little thing about 2 ft. tall but covered with tiny flowers. Of course it went in my cart right away, what a fragrant ride home!

It's supposed to be hardy here, and I can't wait to try propagating some cuttings when it gets warmer. I need to investigate its' mature size to decide where to dig a hole...

Mike, I'm so glad you are experiencing this wonderful scent!

Tiffany, I can only imagine the ride..No need for car fresheners if they could grow in your car.lol
YOU LUCKY GAL YOU!
I wish I could find these readily available at Walmart, of all places, although, for the first time they sold citrus there last summer at half the cost of local nurseries!
Good for you. Please post us a pic once it's planted. I would love to see what you did with it?
:-)

Thanks. I love the scent, although I had to spray for mites now that the flowers are spent. It is a shame it only last for a few days:-(

Mike

Does this look like $10' worth? I thought so! Still mulling / researching about placement...

Ugh! You and Kemistry are killing me with your huge Sweet Olive plants for such cheap prices. The ones I get in the mail are tiny compared to these. :(
You're very lucky! :)

-Robert

That is incredible purpleinopp. So many flowers! I sure would grab one too if I were there : )

It's on the front porch for now, every time I walk out there I can smell it, and the wind is blowing the scent inside today.

Uh, I thought I was buying a shrub. Several sources are saying 20-25 feet tall for this thing. That's a tree, IMO.

If it really will get that big here, I think that's a pretty darn good reason to chain-prune the stupid STINKY (WRONG fragrant!) Bradford pear in the front yard with a truck. Bet that'll make a hole! Might as well snag that awful buckthorn thing while we're at it. Gardenias should be in that spot.

So, Mike, are you saying your plant only blooms once per year? I also read they are prone to blooming in spurts, but that might apply more to ground plants.

Hey, I am with Kemistry and Robert on that one! You are so lucky! I get a 10 dollar one plus 10 dollars shipping in a 4 inch pot!lol

Tiffany, mine only blooms in the winter and just grows all around that. I don't get it. I think it has a lot to do with potted verses ground.
You know who has one and says although it takes a beating, with the cold?
Rhizo....Yes Rhizo. She is always telling me how lovely hers is and hers endures teh cold and wicked storms!
We need to get her here to share how she feels...Let me see...

Nice!!!!!

Now, although I have three, I still want another.lol

Rhizo, calling Rhizo:-)

Mike

Purple, that plant would worth $60 here, what a lucky find.

IKR! Been reading s'more about this thing. Apparently it's exotic yet NOT invasive, even in FL. Amazing. And you know if Rhizo likes it, it has to be good. LOL! This is definitely going in the front yard somewhere.

If only I could convince the folks at the bank across the street to get rid of the awful Bradford pears there and replace them with these. Those BP's stink up the whole neighborhood, of course they're falling apart, NOT evergreen...

Those Bradford Pairs? Oh yes!! I had no idea they were down there too!

They are the first to bloom here and whowa!!! Yuk..lol

Lucky you Tiffany!

Please, one you stick it where you want, share with us?

If it was not for the snowstorm here this a.m, I would of dropped your little package off at the post office:-)

Mike:-)

Oh yes, I'm all about pics, especially solicited ones. When something new happens with this baby tree, I'll post.

BP's - omg I hate these things. Yes, they are very pretty for about a week in the fall. Otherwise, worthless & hate that smell! I do give folks a little more understanding about them here since the choices for fall color are nowhere near as vast as up north, but still... leaving this yard with more Gardenias and Osmanthus in place of BP and buckthorn is something I feel good about. Hopefully will be appreciated by posterity...

Snow? Two days ago we had our windows open & today there's a snow warning not far north of us. EVERYBODY's cold today!

Hi, y'all! Mike and I have talked about Osmanthus fragrans quite a bit...mostly me bragging about how big mine is getting, lol.

When planted in the ground in a suitable location, they will bloom on and off much of the year. We have ours planted near the back patio...the better to enjoy the fragrance. Yes, it has laughed at very low temperatures....upper teens and twenties.....and strong winter winds.

Ours started out as a three gallon baby about five years ago and I'd guess that it's around ten feet today.

I sure agree with you about the Bradford pear. I consider them an absolute liability wherever they are planted.

Purple, we had snow here today. It's been pretty darned cold here the last few days.

Rhizo! I see you got my e-mail and that it found you safe and sound. I miss you here at times and I am so glad to see you have stopped by.
I wouldn't want you to miss out on all the fun around here with a great bunch of people!

I always wonder how your tree is and God knows how much your tree has stood up to and this should be quite an encouragement to Tiffany.

I have a question if you should see this in case Tiffany forgets to ask....

Does she have to protect her tree until it gets big enough to handle the cold as so? Do the roots have to grow well into the earth for teh first few years before she does not have to worry about portecting it?
Do you have suggestions or should she just plant and not worry about the cold?

It is so great to see you and thank you for joing in with us. :-)))))))))))))

B.P...How in the world do they even hold up to the storm winds there? Here, one gust of wind and they break or get uprooted..lol

Mike

My friend, thanks for thinking of me.

I don't know where Tiffany lives. I did protect our little plant for the first winter, but never after that. We also water and fertilize very conservatively, and our plants do not produce overly soft, succulent growth.

Bradford pears DON'T make it through our big wind storms and tornadoes! You should see the neighborhoods with lots of those trees after our tornadoes. Heck, they collapse during a mild summer breeze.

Rhizo, how can I not..We go WAY back and consider you a wonderful friend:-)

You are not exaggerating about those trees! I will say they are the first to blossom up here and look real nice about a week, the poof, gone.

We'll chat soon. I wished I had time to e-mail you back this a.m, but I will before the weekend is out. So happy you are safe and everyone is doing well:-)
Thanks for helping out here and for being involved.
I will be disappointed if you don't come around more often since this is where I spend a lot of time:-)

Mike

Thanks for the tips! I really am in Opp. (Just N of FL border.) I'm thrilled to hear your tree is a multi-bloomer, Rhizo! I may end up loving this more than Gardenia.

Our plant was a gift from our much loved neighbor, who purchased three or four for herself at the same time. For such little flowers, they pack a powerful aroma. We've had people drive or walk by and ask where the smell is coming from.

Purple, is there anywhere you could plant your treasure where it would get some shade during the hottest part of the day? I'd suggest that in your location.

I had never heard of Opp! What do you like most about it? I've spent most of my life in very small towns and love that kind of community.

Hmmm, if it needs a little shade, it may have to go in the back yard. I'll ask/look around a bit and see if I can get a grip on how they are used here.

Opp is due north of Destin about 80 miles. The thing I like most is that there isn't a freeway anywhere around here. A traffic jam means you had to wait for the light twice. I like having windows open every month of the year, and being so close to the beach. Haven't seen any men with clear nail polish or gel in their hair since I moved down here. I like not seeing Chemlawn trucks or their stupid little signs on the toxic lawns. Conversely, I like seeing purple lawns in the spring, and all of the other tiny flowers that can grow along with grass. I can go to the grocery store and get back home within 30 minutes. Housing costs about 1/4 as much here. There's more, but that's probably already going in to TMI...

This post was edited by purpleinopp on Sat, Jan 19, 13 at 10:34

Lot's of leaf loss here and out of bloom for a while now.
I hate it that it won't rebloom until next year at this time. I think it's a lck of sunlight around my parts that causes the leaf loss..Oh well:-(

Purple, I never heard of a town called Opp..Cool name! I thought that was the abbreviation for youur town.lol

It sounds like a place where you can hear a swarm of bees from a mile away and the sounds of a hummin birds feathers flap as it drinks from your food source!
What I would do without noise pollution and the every day cars backed up on the roads.
To hear the frog peepers make their music on a first warm spring night. We use to until development took over.

I once stayed at my sisters house which is a mile into the woods in the country. It was so dead silent there to sleep, that I could here buzzing noise in my ear all night. I never slept thatn night!
A place where you can plant an Osmanthus in the ground and enjoy it's size for years to come!

Mike

Mersypoo. Don't give up on the rosemary ... I have a 5 year old Bush in a pot... Don't overwater it. Once every 2 weeks or so, in winter. And I keep mine in a west window, and unheated hallway. It's a good plant to have that can be mostly ignored.

Beautiful Osmanthus! I have an outdoor hedge of it, now above the fence line, so probably 8feet tall, and 12years old (first thing I planted when I bought this house!). I'd love to prop cuttings and bring some indoors- can anyone advise? I tried last fall with cuttings taken from new growth, but they didn't root. Used to be you could just buy these at any nursery, but nobody stocks them anymore here. I LOVE osmanthus!! And, don't forget Daphne Odora! this time of year wonderful fragrance.