When Does Dan Gui Bloom? The Latest Flowering Season Guide

Dan Gui, also known as Mu Xi or Gui Hua, is an evergreen tree in the Oleaceae family, genus Osmanthus, distributed in the Yangtze River basin and areas to its south in the northern subtropical deciduous and evergreen broad-leaved mixed forest zone, dioecious, with oblong leaves, bearing orange-red flowers with a very strong fragrance, a round spherical crown, commonly used as a landscape tree species. Let's take a look below at when Dan Gui blooms!

When does Dan Gui bloom?

The flowering period of Dan Gui is from September to early October, and the fruiting period is March of the following year. Dan Gui is a precious variety among all Dan Gui cultivars, belonging to the red-flowered group, with the main flowering time in October, slightly later than Jin Gui and Yin Gui. The cymes are clustered in the leaf axils or nearly broom-shaped, with multiple flowers in each axil, broad ovate bracts, slender and weak pedicels, extremely fragrant flowers, a calyx about 1 mm long with slightly irregular lobes, and a corolla that is yellowish-white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-red, with stamens inserted at the middle of the corolla tube and very short filaments.

How many years does it take for cultivated Dan Gui to bloom?

The Dan Gui variety is very special and currently cannot be obtained through sowing; it can only be propagated by grafting or cuttings, which determines the flowering time of Dan Gui. Grafted Dan Gui can generally bloom within one year, but most grafted Dan Gui are used for potted cultivation and cannot be used as landscape trees. Cutting-propagated Dan Gui can generally bloom at four years of age and can be used both for potted cultivation and for landscape greening.

What should be done if Dan Gui does not bloom?

1. Placement location: Dan Gui is a long-day plant that loves strong light, so potted Dan Gui must be placed in sunlight as much as possible. If the light is insufficient, during the growth and development period the potted Dan Gui cannot get the sunlight it needs, which will cause the plant's leaves to grow excessively, and in severe cases even cause leaf drop, affecting the differentiation and formation of flower buds.

2. Sufficient nutrients: Although potted Dan Gui is not strict about soil requirements, slightly acidic soil is best; mountain soil or a mix of leaf mold, garden soil, river sand, etc. can be used. For fertilization, generally apply a quick-acting nitrogen-based fertilizer once when buds sprout and new leaves emerge in spring, and apply a phosphorus- and potassium-based fertilizer once before flowering in July. Repot and change the soil once every one and a half years, and apply an appropriate amount of cake fertilizer when repotting. Only in this way can the potting soil be prevented from becoming compacted, allowing its root system to spread freely and preventing insufficient nutrients from affecting flowering.

3. Proper watering: Dan Gui has relatively high water requirements and most fears waterlogging. During the growing season, watering should follow the principle of watering when dry and stopping when wet; the ideal soil moisture in the pot is about 50% water content. If watered too much or if water accumulates in the pot for a long time, it will cause root rot and leaf drop, which will inevitably affect normal flowering. Under normal circumstances, after transplanting Dan Gui into new potting soil, water thoroughly once first, and after about 10 days, once the plant has recovered growth and produced new leaves, normal watering can resume. Water less before new shoots appear and on cloudy days, and water more in summer and autumn when the weather is dry.

4. Avoid smoke and dust: Dan Gui is the plant that most avoids smoke and dust, and is especially sensitive to coal smoke and oil fumes discharged from kitchens. If growing Dan Gui is exposed to the above air pollution, it will grow poorly, with leaves becoming smaller and prone to falling off, resulting in fewer or no flowers.

5. Shaping and pruning: Dan Gui has the characteristics of a well-developed root system and strong sprouting ability. Generally, mature Dan Gui trees send out new shoots twice a year in spring and autumn. To maintain the physiological balance between reproductive growth and vegetative growth, timely pruning is necessary. Pruning should preferably be done after flowering in autumn or before bud break in spring, cutting off dense branches, leggy branches, residual branches, and diseased or pest-infested branches. During the growing season, cut off sprouting branches to help concentrate nutrients and promote abundant flowering.