Be prepared to wait for several years before this Osmanthus can flower: Here in Sydney Australia I have been waiting for over three years after planting it and still have not seen any blooming. People here say it takes at least 4 years to flower after planting.

So I've heard! I don't mind the waiting but it's impossible to find in my area despite it surviving in my zone. Tons of them being sold online in the USA but none of them will ship north so I'm at a loss.

It's a little bit odd no Osmanthus Aurantiacus sales in Canada since it is a cold season flower, I just did a google in Chinese for Canadian Osmanthus Aurantiacus 丹桂 sales, some said these people sell :

10011 ON-48, Markham, ON L3P 3J3，Kim's Nature;

STEVEN, KED3188@YAHOO.CA, Addr. 801 GATENSBURY ST, BC, Ph. 7789280620；

Also some people said in Surrey BC there are nurseries selling Osmanthus Aurantiacus 丹桂

Ah thank you so much!!! I've been searching for at least a week so I had begun to lose hope. I was hesitant to search in Chinese since I only have a very limited knowledge. going to check in with these emails and call some nurseries in Surrey. Travel restrictions within my area are easing a bit so I can expand my search to a wider radius!

@Grant Yang (Sydney Australia) Waiting since 2016 here for it to flower.

@Just Started(Sydney) Not a surprise, the golden & red osmanthus trees are notorious for their long waiting years before their first time bloom

So you did find an Osmanthus Aurantiacus 丹桂花 in BC？ Good to hear & congratulations, hope it will bloom in a few years.

D I am confused by the background of the picture. Is it a sheer wall of rock behind?

So many things going in background.

Is this the same as Sweet Olive, or 四季桂？

@RoseMe SD No , the thing talked about here is 丹桂， that blooms only in autumn with fragrant flowers in dark orange or red colour. 四季桂 blooms throughout most of the cold months with fragrant cream white colour flowers. There is one variety of red aurantiacus osmanthus 丹桂 in China that can also have some blooms in other seasons outside autumn but not sure that variety is available outside China(probably available in Taiwan)

@Grant Yang (Sydney Australia) do you know the Chinese name for Fudingzhu Sweet Olive? Is it one of the 桂花 you mentioned below?

@RoseMe SD Not quite sure what Chinese name the ”Fudingzhu” osmanthus here in the West corresponds to, the osmanthus varieties outside China & Taiwan have been highly & widely hybridized so they are gradually drifting away from the original Chinese varieties. But even the Chinese themselves are constantly hybridizing their osmanthus, the aurantiacus osmanthus 丹桂 in China & Taiwan have many different varieties, searching google pictures can easily see their images, to actually obtain those 丹桂 I suppose you need to go to China or Taiwan:

Congratulation Kar D for the Osmanthus Aurantiacus plant. I also searched for a while and finally got one in a nursery in North Carolina this thanks giving holiday

Can't wait to see it blooming, but it is still a small baby.

@RoseMe SD, The Sweet Olive tree Fudingzhu variety is also called Fodingzhu. The Chinese characters are: 佛顶珠. The direct translation word by word are: 佛 (Fu) = Buddha, 顶 (Ding) = Top, 珠 (Zhu) = Pearl. It means "the pearls on a buddha's head". It describes the flower clusters are relative big and many, as pearls on top of the plant. Its flowering time belongs to the "Four Season" group of the sweet olive. (四季桂)

@Grant Yang (Sydney Australia) is correct. Many of the new varieties of the Sweet Olive were hybridized or newly discovered by nurseries, enthusiasts and biologists in China in the last 60+ years and on.

Matt Thank.you for the Chinese name for my plant. In fact would you mind taking a look at my plant too? It is not doing very well. Leaves have splits and yellowing on tips and fall off but it is watered appropriately.

At this rate it will have no leaves left soon...

@RoseMe SD, Which region or where do you live? Your plant looks healthy to me. It is common that the Sweet Olive plants shed some of their old leaves at this time of the year in North America, especially in cold weather. The good sign is that your plant has new buds coming out from the trunk and the branches. As long as it is not overly watered, it should be fine.

There are many reasons that plants have brown tip leaves. The most common ones are: too much fertilizer or not enough watering. But in your case, I think you had a hot summer or the micro-climate near the plant is relatively dry. You can spray some clean water to the leaves once, or twice every day, but do not water the soil every day. Only water your plant soil at your usual normal schedule, every few days. Over all, I think you have taken good care of your plant. I am curious, did you buy your plant at a nursery?

Hi Matt, I am in southern CA zone 10b. I got mine from an online seller in August. It is a very slow grower. At the same time of purchase I also got a Magnolia Figo, the figo has grown three times it's original size and this babe hasn't grown at all it seems....

@RoseMe SD, Magnolia figo is another very beautiful and fragrant plant.

Just plant it in the ground asap. My 4 plants took off immediately in the ground after sitting a couple of months in pots without much growth.

@RoseMe SD, Your plant is still young and small. I would avoid to expose it to full sun. I would also spray clean water to the leaves once or twice daily. Hopefully the old leaves will stay with the plant a little bit longer. But I will not over water the soil, otherwise, it will cause root rot and kill the plant. my 2 cents.

Yes it has been tricky to find a good spot for it to get enough light without direct sun for too long. I also thought about potting it again to a smaller pot. Is it worth doing this time of the year? My outdoor temperature ranges between 45 and 72.

Roseme and all first-time osm. growers:

If you are intersted to buy a bigger plant, look at Homedepot website.

Homedepot sells osmanthus fragrans from Baucom nursery.

I bought 4 plants in March 2021. I repot them in bigger containers. They are all growing and blooming outside from sept to early dec. I am in zone 7, VA. It stopped blooming or growing when the temp outside is low 40.

The pictures (taken Jan 2022) below are of one of the plants that i took inside in Dec. It kept growing and blooming since then.

This is all info i can share right now since I only got them 10 months ago.

I am in love with the osmanthus fragrans. I read so many things about o. fra as much as i could. There is not much information available in English. And i can’t read Chinese. I am in the process of buying different cultivars which are available in the US.