When Does Fragrant Osmanthus Bloom? A Roundup of the Blooming Seasons of Four Major Varieties
Among China's top ten famous flowers, osmanthus has always held a place of honor. Its distinctive fragrance and wide range of uses have earned it endless praise from many enthusiasts. Osmanthus is also known as rock osmanthus, muxi, jiulixiang, and so on. The better-known varieties include golden osmanthus, red osmanthus, silver osmanthus, and laurel. As for when osmanthus blooms, we'll give you a quick primer here too.
1. When does osmanthus bloom?
As we mentioned earlier, osmanthus has a great many varieties, and each type blooms at a slightly different time. Here we've summarized the specific blooming times of some popular varieties for you:
1. Blooming time of golden osmanthus
Golden osmanthus is a strongly fragrant osmanthus with yellow petals that are very small and fine, and not very substantial. It blooms in autumn each year. Golden osmanthus is a general name for this variety group, and specific types include “Dahua Jin Gui”, Daye Huang”, “Huangchuan Jin Gui”, “Wan Jin Gui”, “Yuanye Jin Gui”, Xianning Wan Gui, Qiu Gui, Yuanbian Jin Gui, Liuye Su Gui, Jinshi Gui, Boye Jin Gui, and others.
2. Blooming time of red osmanthus
Red osmanthus has a rather unusual flower color. It isn't the usual yellow osmanthus; its flowers are orange-red. The corolla curls slightly inward, and the fragrance is very light, making it suitable for enthusiasts who don't care for strong floral scents. Red osmanthus blooms mainly from late September to early October, with a flowering period of about 15 days or more, also in autumn. Red osmanthus varieties include “Dahua Dan Gui”, “Chi Dan Gui”, “Zhusha Dan Gui”, and “Kuanye Hong”.
3. Blooming time of silver osmanthus
Silver osmanthus has flowers on the creamy-yellow side, not as pure as lemon yellow, and is also a strongly fragrant osmanthus. Like golden osmanthus, its petals are not substantial, and it blooms concentrated in autumn; the spectacle of silver osmanthus in full bloom can be enjoyed from early September each year. Silver osmanthus has many varieties, mainly including Kuanye Zi Yin Gui, Liuye Yin Gui, Yingye Yin Gui, “Zi Yin Gui”, “Jiulong Gui”, “Zao Yin Gui”, “Wan Yin Gui”, “Baijie”, “Chunbai Yin Gui”, and others.
4. Blooming time of four-season osmanthus
Four-season osmanthus is a fairly common osmanthus variety. Its flower color is on the pale side, mainly creamy yellow and lemon yellow. Its fragrance is not as rich as other varieties and is fairly light, but when planted on a large scale it still makes a strong impression. It can bloom in all four seasons each year, and some varieties bloom concentrated from September to March of the following year. Main varieties include “Yuanyue Gui”, “Rixiang Gui”, “Daye Fodingzhu”, “Chiye Siji Gui”, and others.
Besides the four major variety groups we mentioned, osmanthus trees also include Xiaoye Su Gui, Ziyun, Huangzhou Huang, Liuye Gui, Zao Yin Gui, and others, which basically all bloom concentrated in autumn each year.
Osmanthus trees' blooms are fragrant for ten miles around. Those who grow osmanthus can also pick fresh osmanthus flowers to brew osmanthus wine, make osmanthus cake, and so on. Its exceptionally high ornamental garden value and practicality are its unique traits. We hope this article has been helpful to you.