Dwarf Tea Olive
- Thread starter Carol 83
- Start date
JudyB
Queen of the Nuts
That looks like a holly leaf, not an olive! Never heard of this plant, what family is it in? Oh duh, just saw you listed it as osmanthus....
Vin
Imperial Masterpiece
Very nice leaves. I have seen photos of the dwarf variety in bloom and there are loads of flowers. My wheels are turning. 
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,341
- Reaction score
- 23,292
- USDA Zone
- 5b
Osmanthus heterophyllum 'Kaori Hime' is a nice slower growing cultivar of Osmanthus. A good find. It can make wonderful bonsai, but will take a lot of time to develop. Check out Penjing websites to see examples, popular in China.
It will be reluctant to bloom, and only bloom for a few weeks a year. Delightful fragrance. For continuous bloom, as a patio tree, get Osmanthus fragrans 'Fuding Zhu' Buddha's Pearls fragrant tea olive. Leaves are too big for bonsai but mine blooms 10 months a year. Same heavenly scent.
It will be reluctant to bloom, and only bloom for a few weeks a year. Delightful fragrance. For continuous bloom, as a patio tree, get Osmanthus fragrans 'Fuding Zhu' Buddha's Pearls fragrant tea olive. Leaves are too big for bonsai but mine blooms 10 months a year. Same heavenly scent.
Well, the reluctant to bloom thing, is disappointing, But I still like it's compactness, and tiny leaves. You had me with "blooms 10 months a year" Would you know of a good place to look for one of those by chance?
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Love it's foliage shape!
sorce
Nonsense Rascal
I found one. Full of buds and just starting to bloom. Wonderful fragrance. Citrus-like, but sweeter.
milehigh_7
Mister 500,000
Cuttings? Maybe we can work out a trade if you get some going!
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,341
- Reaction score
- 23,292
- USDA Zone
- 5b
Congratulations Carol, keep up the good work. That is a happy tree. Enjoy it. move it to where you can smell it often.
Perhaps I was wrong about Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Kaori Hime', it might be more free with blooming than the older cultivars of O. heterophyllus. My experience was with O. heterophyllus 'Goshiki' which grew slow, and seldom bloomed. I might have been wrong to project that experience onto your cultivar. Keep track of how long it has flowers for you. You might not need to find an O. fragrans 'Fuding Zhu'
By the way, they will propagate from cuttings. When ever you prune it, try to strike the trimmings. You should have success at least 20% by just sticking the cuttings in ''dirt'' and putting the pot in a bright shady spot. Roots will take 3 to 12 months to appear, but as long as you have one green leaf the cutting is still alive.
Perhaps I was wrong about Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Kaori Hime', it might be more free with blooming than the older cultivars of O. heterophyllus. My experience was with O. heterophyllus 'Goshiki' which grew slow, and seldom bloomed. I might have been wrong to project that experience onto your cultivar. Keep track of how long it has flowers for you. You might not need to find an O. fragrans 'Fuding Zhu'
By the way, they will propagate from cuttings. When ever you prune it, try to strike the trimmings. You should have success at least 20% by just sticking the cuttings in ''dirt'' and putting the pot in a bright shady spot. Roots will take 3 to 12 months to appear, but as long as you have one green leaf the cutting is still alive.
Cadillactaste
Neagari Gal
Blooms! Nice to see...been playing in snow these days.
I'll have my people call your people.
The one blooming is actually the one you spoke about, just got it a couple weeks ago. Went on a hunt, and found one online. Budding all over, even from the trunk. The dwarf variety is doing fine, but not blooming.
Leo in N E Illinois
The Professor
- Messages
- 11,341
- Reaction score
- 23,292
- USDA Zone
- 5b
Ah, I misunderstood. But great, I'm glad you picked up an O. fragrans 'Fuding Zhu' Taking a second looks at the leaves, it is obvious that the one in bloom is O. fragrans. Great fragrance. I can tell when mine is in bloom, without ever getting close enough to see the tree or flowers. Nice fragrance.
Happy New Years
