Analysis of the Causes of Osmanthus Death in Winter and Spring

Many growers of osmanthus (detailed introduction) will find that during the transition between winter and spring, osmanthus is very prone to dying. If growers assume it is the cold weather that has frozen the plant to death and take warm-keeping measures, this often only worsens the death of the osmanthus.

Osmanthus (detailed introduction)

In fact, the dormancy temperature for osmanthus in winter is 0-5°C. Below 0°C it will suffer cold damage, and above 5°C it will cause the leaf buds to sprout. Especially indoors in winter, where the room temperature is often above 15°C, such an environment easily prevents the osmanthus from going through a stage of dormancy during which it accumulates nutrients, and instead breaks dormancy early, producing branches and leaves. The branches produced this way are too tender and delicate to withstand the cold wave attacks after being moved outdoors in spring, and thus wilt and die. Therefore, to get your osmanthus to pass safely through the transition between winter and spring, you should create a good dormancy environment for it in winter. Methods such as covering with plastic film can be used to place the osmanthus in a 0-5°C environment, while also giving it sufficient sunlight, not applying fertilizer, avoiding overly wet potting soil, and watering only once every 7-10 days.

Reasons Why Osmanthus Dies Overwintering

        The osmanthus dies before spring even arrives. The reason for this must be sought in the management methods. Besides supplying appropriate moisture and sufficient light, it is especially important not to fertilize the osmanthus in winter and to keep it in a cool, cold environment. This is because the reason osmanthus easily dies in winter is not that the environment is not warm enough, but that the environment is not cool enough. In the osmanthus's place of origin, winter is not warm. Having adapted to this growing environment for thousands of years, when the osmanthus overwinters in a warm place, at first no abnormality in the plant can be seen. On the contrary, it seems to forget that winter has come, sprouting buds and branches, looking altogether thriving. However, this situation cannot last long. When factors such as indoor lighting and temperature changes cannot satisfy the kind of growth seen in summer, old leaves begin to drop, new shoots wilt, and the plant dies. To get your osmanthus to overwinter safely, in winter place it in a 0-5°C environment and give it sufficient sunlight; do not apply fertilizer, and avoid overly wet potting soil. After winter has passed you will find that your osmanthus has not only survived safely, but is growing even more vigorously than those that barely survived the winter in a high-temperature environment.

How to Avoid Osmanthus Dying at the Transition Between Winter and Spring