A Detailed Guide to Growing Four-Season Osmanthus Bonsai

Four-Season Osmanthus is a precious and famous flower in China, not only enjoying a wide range of admirers but also possessing high economic value, and it is deeply loved by people. However, growing Four-Season Osmanthus well is not so easy. To learn how to grow it, you need to start from the following five aspects.

Choose the right potting soil

Osmanthus likes slightly acidic, well-drained, fertile sandy loam. In strongly acidic soil, Osmanthus grows slowly, with yellowing and withered leaves and few branches; in soil with a pH value of 3-4, a grafted two-year-old seedling produces only 2-3 branches in that year, with branch length of only 6 cm, which is 2 times fewer branches and 1-2 times shorter than in soil with a pH value of 6. In alkaline soil, leaf withering appears within two to three months, and the plant gradually dies.

2. Vigorous flowering depends on fertilizer; Osmanthus likes pig manure. It can be mixed into the potting soil, or applied to the bottom of the pot after being composted and sun-dried. The amount of fertilizer applied should be based on 1/4 of the pot height, and a layer of soil about 1 cun to 2 cun thick should be covered over the fertilizer, then the Four-Season Osmanthus is planted, and no further fertilizing is needed within one year. In cities where pig manure is unavailable, donkey, horse or mule hooves can be composted into liquid, watered once when sprouting in spring, and then from before August, watered once every 7 to 10 days. You can also use sauce residue, fried soybeans, or fried raw peanuts, grind them into powder, dig ring-shaped holes around the roots and bury the powder in the potting soil. According to observation: with sufficient fertilizer, the flowers are vigorous and fragrant, and there are 2 to 3 times more flowers. With insufficient fertilizer, there are few branches, few flowers, and the flowers are not fragrant.

Watering should be appropriate

For watering Osmanthus, master the principle of two less and one more: water less for plants repotted before new shoots emerge, water less on cloudy and rainy days, and water more on dry days in summer and autumn. After repotting and watering thoroughly, maintain a water content of about 50% regularly; during the dog days (July-September), the soil water content should be about 60%. Identification method: squeeze the potting soil with your hand and it can form a ball, then crumbles when released. On cloudy and rainy days, pay attention to drainage to prevent waterlogging and root rot. Practice has shown that when soil waterlogging exceeds 90%, Osmanthus is prone to drowning.

At the same time, air humidity must also be maintained. Place the Osmanthus in a shaded spot and spray water on the leaf surface once each morning and evening. Or place a fish tank or small basin filled with water beside it, and place the Osmanthus in the open air to receive night dew and increase humidity so as to keep the leaves fresh.

Flowering period control

The flower bud formation and differentiation of Four-Season Osmanthus through to flowering requires going through a high temperature - low temperature - high temperature process. When the high temperature is around 30°C, differentiation begins, and flower buds form in 25-31 days; after 3-5 days of low-temperature dormancy at around 15°C, the flower buds begin to sprout. After the flower buds sprout, at a high temperature above 25°C, they bloom very quickly.

Shaping

Osmanthus is mainly grown for its foliage, shape and flowers. The flowers are small but fragrant, and it is mainly the beauty of the leaves and shape that matters. The shaping should express an air of prosperity and wealth, solemnity and dignity, and elegance and purity. Privet can be used as rootstock. First move large-leaf privet into a flower pot; from the summer solstice to the autumn equinox, the approach grafting method can be used throughout this period, that is, graft the Osmanthus branch onto the privet branch by approach grafting, remove the tip of the privet branch, and after it survives, cut the Osmanthus from the mother plant, forming a new Osmanthus plant. The survival rate can generally reach 100%. Some privet rootstocks are not attractive in form, so you can first select the shape, such as curved arch, twisted, etc., shape it according to personal preference, and then approach graft. Where large-leaf privet is unavailable, small-leaf privet can be used as rootstock. After the Osmanthus is approach grafted, watering must not be neglected, and management is the same as normal.