Reasons Why Osmanthus Trees Do Not Bloom and How to Fix Them; Reasons for Poor Growth of Osmanthus Trees
The osmanthus tree is one of the most common trees. It is not only ornamental but also fills the air with a pleasant fragrance when the osmanthus blooming season arrives, making it deeply loved by everyone. Basically, any household with a small courtyard will plant one or a few osmanthus trees. When they bloom, everyone starts using osmanthus to make all kinds of different foods, such as osmanthus wine and osmanthus cake. So what should you do if your osmanthus tree does not bloom?
Reasons Why Osmanthus Trees Do Not Bloom and How to Fix Them
I. Reasons Why Osmanthus Trees Do Not Bloom
1. Poor dormancy
Osmanthus goes indoors for dormancy in winter, and a low temperature of 2—4℃ is best. In an environment above 8℃, dormancy is often poor, and the tree will sprout and unfold leaves early, making the branches thin and weak, with insufficient nutrients and poor stress resistance, resulting in few or no flowers.
2. Insufficient light
Osmanthus is a long-day plant and loves sunlight. If potted flowers are kept in a shaded place for a long time during growth and development, insufficient light will make the plant grow leggy, soft and weak, and the leaf color will fade and turn yellow, affecting flower bud differentiation and leading to no blooming.
3. Improper fertilization
If too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied during the growing period of osmanthus, while less phosphorus fertilizer that promotes flower bud differentiation and flower bud formation is applied during the bud stage, the plant tends to grow leggy, vegetative growth becomes excessive, flower bud differentiation is affected, and it easily causes few or no flowers. Even if it blooms, the flowers are not fragrant.
4. Excessive watering
Osmanthus fears waterlogging. Too much watering during the winter dormancy period and the growing season, with the flower pot frequently waterlogged, easily causes root rot and leaf drop, making the plant's branches grow thin and weak and seriously affecting blooming.
5. Improper management
If a potted osmanthus is not repotted and the soil is not changed for many years, the potting soil becomes nutrient-deficient, and the root system becomes tangled and cannot spread, so the roots absorb nutrients poorly, which also affects blooming. In addition, if osmanthus is not pruned for many years, the balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth is disrupted, which can also lead to few or no flowers.
6. Coal smoke pollution
Osmanthus is sensitive to coal smoke. If potted flowers are kept for a long time in an environment easily polluted by coal smoke, they will grow poorly, the leaves will become smaller and easily fall off, seriously affecting the plant's blooming.
7. Damage from diseases and pests
Osmanthus is easily harmed by diseases and pests such as anthracnose and scale insects. If not controlled in time, blooming is likewise affected. In addition, mistakenly pruning spring shoots will affect blooming that year. If too many branches are cut from blooming osmanthus, the growth vigor will be weakened, affecting future blooming.
II. Solutions
1. Ensure low-temperature dormancy. The overwintering temperature for potted osmanthus is 3-5 degrees Celsius. Above 3 degrees Celsius, there is no need to move it indoors; keep it at natural temperature. Below 3 degrees Celsius, move it indoors. After moving indoors, let it remain dormant at low temperature so it can grow vigorously the next year with abundant flowers and lush leaves.
2. When moving it outdoors in spring, it should be moved outside on a cloudy day or rainy day. Never move it outside suddenly on a hot sunny day and expose it to direct sun; let it gradually adapt to the outdoor environment.
3. Ensure long-day sunlight. There should be more than 10 hours of sunlight per day to meet its sunlight needs.
4. Water reasonably. A water content of 30% should be maintained; in hot summer, a water content of 60% is suitable. Do not let it become too dry or too wet.
5. Nitrogen fertilizer should not be excessive; it should be applied together with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Osmanthus needs more phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Foliar topdressing can be used by spraying 0.1%--0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves.
6. Prevent pollution. You can gently wipe the leaves with fine gauze to keep the leaf surface clean, wiping once every 15 days, to facilitate photosynthesis and make the plant grow robustly.
7. If the potting soil has been used for too long, it should be replaced. Replace the potting soil once every 1—2 years. When repotting, a small amount of hoof pieces can be applied at the bottom of the pot as base fertilizer.
8. Prune properly. Before moving it outdoors, cut off diseased and weak branches and overly dense branches, and appropriately shorten branches according to the plant shape, so as to improve ventilation and light penetration and promote blooming.
Reasons for Poor Growth of Osmanthus Trees
The dormancy temperature of osmanthus is between zero and five degrees. But now in winter, many cities have central heating, and indoor temperatures are mostly around 15 degrees. At such temperatures, osmanthus will break dormancy and sprout and unfold leaves early. Not only can it not accumulate nutrients through dormancy, but it also consumes a large amount of nutrients too early, creating a false appearance of prosperity and lushness. By spring, the tender branches and leaves cannot withstand the cold, dry, fierce wind and will soon wilt and dry up. If this continues for 2-3 consecutive years, the entire osmanthus will die.
What Causes Yellowing Leaves on Osmanthus Trees
1. Soil that is too dry
If watering is not timely and the potting soil remains in a dry state for a long time, osmanthus often shows poor growth, worsening vigor, and yellowish leaf color. During home care, attention should be paid to keeping the potting soil moist and watering in time.
2. Soil that is too wet
Osmanthus avoids wetness and waterlogging. If watered too much and drainage is poor, it will cause root rot in osmanthus, with symptoms such as yellowing leaf color, scorched edges, and leaf drop. In severe cases, the branches and leaves wither, or the plant even dies.
3. Soil that is too alkaline
Osmanthus prefers acidic soil. When the soil is alkaline, growth is poor and the amount of blooming decreases. There are often phenomena such as leaf yellowing.
Cutting Time for Osmanthus Trees
The cutting time is best in the two periods from mid-May to mid-July each year and from mid-September to mid-October. At this time, the new shoots have stopped growing, the branches have more nutrients, the meristematic tissue capacity is stronger, and the temperature is more suitable, making rooting easy.
From the above, everyone can understand that in fact, every step in growing osmanthus cannot be neglected. If the weather is hot and dry and there is no ventilation, this is extremely unfavorable to the growth of osmanthus. So in normal times, everyone can consider frequently spraying a little water around the osmanthus.