What are the reasons a osmanthus tree blooms but has no fragrance?
Why does an osmanthus tree bloom without fragrance? What causes it? How to solve it? In recent years, many large osmanthus trees have been planted along roadsides, in residential areas, government offices, and enterprises and institutions. When the flowers bloom, the city should be filled with fragrance, yet the scent of osmanthus is hard to detect. Why is it that the flowers bloom but no fragrance can be smelled? Some say the high-rise buildings in the city block the sunlight, and some say car exhaust has polluted the environment, but even in places with ample sunlight and little car exhaust pollution, the osmanthus is still not fragrant. What is the reason? It is mainly related to the variety of osmanthus. In recent years, what has been planted in large quantities is not the August osmanthus with a rich floral fragrance, but the Four Seasons osmanthus, which blooms little and has very little fragrance. There are many types of osmanthus, such as golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus, and Four Seasons osmanthus. Their characteristics and uses are not all the same.
In recent years, many large osmanthus trees have been planted along roadsides, in residential areas, government offices, and enterprises and institutions. When the flowers bloom, the city should be filled with fragrance, yet the scent of osmanthus is hard to detect. Why is it that the flowers bloom but no fragrance can be smelled? Some say the high-rise buildings in the city block the sunlight, and some say car exhaust has polluted the environment, but even in places with ample sunlight and little car exhaust pollution, the osmanthus is still not fragrant. What is the reason? It is mainly related to the variety of osmanthus. In recent years, what has been planted in large quantities is not the August osmanthus with a rich floral fragrance, but the Four Seasons osmanthus, which blooms little and has very little fragrance. There are many types of osmanthus, such as golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus, and Four Seasons osmanthus. Their characteristics and uses are not all the same.
1. Golden osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans 'Jingui') has golden-yellow flowers and a rich fragrance. This is the type sold on the market as a spice, used to make pastries and cook sweet dishes. In the past, most of what was planted in courtyards was this type. The golden osmanthus tree form is tall and upright, reaching more than 5 m. The branches and leaves are dense, the branches are thick and strong, the leaves are wavy and uneven, and the leaf texture is thick, dark green, and glossy.
2. Silver osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans 'Yingui') has milky-white flowers and a clear, sweet fragrance. Its branches and leaves are sparser than those of golden osmanthus, and the leaves are smaller and thin in texture.
3. Red osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans 'Dangui') has orange-red or orange-yellow flowers. Its fragrance is slightly lighter than that of golden osmanthus. The branches and leaves are dense, the branches are thick and hard, the leaf color is deep green, and the leaf texture is thick and hard.
4. Four Seasons osmanthus (Osmanthus fragrans 'Sijigui') has white or slightly yellowish-white flowers and a very faint fragrance. Except in severe cold and extreme heat, it can bloom a small number of flowers at other times. Flower production is low, the plant is tall and clustered, and the branches are thick, strong, and dense, with vigorous growth. The leaves are elliptical and flat, with a large angle between the main and side veins, forming a 60-degree angle, and the leaf color is light green or light yellow. It is more common in the south and suitable for pot cultivation. There are many varieties of Four Seasons osmanthus. The treasured variety often seen in advertisements, "Rigui Xiang", has golden-yellow flowers and a rich fragrance, and is mainly produced in Sichuan and other places.
Osmanthus is fragrant at the Mid-Autumn Festival in August. When we speak of osmanthus, we should mainly mean golden osmanthus, not the "Four Seasons osmanthus" that blooms sporadically throughout the year and has very little fragrance. What property owners require to be planted should also be the strongly fragrant golden osmanthus, not the Four Seasons osmanthus with hardly any fragrance. This is because osmanthus flowers are small and inconspicuous, so their ornamental value is not great, but their fragrance is unique.
In recent years, most of what has been planted in Wenzhou is the "Four Seasons osmanthus" with very little fragrance, rather than the "August osmanthus". When the Mid-Autumn Festival in August comes and people hope to smell osmanthus fragrance, there is no fragrance to smell. Why was Four Seasons osmanthus planted? Because in Zhejiang, the price of Four Seasons osmanthus is only about half that of August osmanthus. Landscaping design documents only mark "osmanthus" without marking the variety name. With the price differing by a factor of two, why would construction contractors not take the opportunity to profit?
Osmanthus trees are relatively expensive, and Four Seasons osmanthus that has already been planted cannot be dug up and replaced, so it can only become a matter of regret, but such things should be avoided as much as possible in the future. How can they be avoided?
Landscaping units should clearly set out variety requirements such as golden osmanthus, design units should clearly mark variety names, and project cost budgets and final accounts should be priced by variety name, so the loophole of passing off one thing as another will naturally be closed. The division of landscaping tree varieties should be clear, and design and construction units should choose tree species according to the customer's needs and price them according to quality.
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