Where can I find Osmanthus fragrans, 15 gallon

14 years ago

Help! I am in the middle of a project where I want to put a hedge of Osmanthus, but the nursery says they can't get enough 15 gallon size. Has anyone seen them available? I live in SF, but I'm willing to go as far as Carmel/Gilroy/Sacramento/Cloverdale if a place is open this Saturday. The suggested alternatives are Pittosporum tenufolium (but I don't want the hedge much higher than 6 ft) and Rhamnus alaternus (but I don't want something reseeding everywhere). Suggestions for alternates? Growers with Osmanthus??

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marie_louise

14 years ago

I don't know where you can find them but I want to echo bahia's caution about how large they get.

I had some growing in an eastern facing side yard when we moved into our home in Oakland. Within five years they were 15 foot tall trees, and were completely bare on the lowest 6 feet. They were useless at hiding the fence a few feet away. We cut them down, they sprouted from the stumps. What a mess.

I'm sure they would be lovely as a small tree. IMO, they are not hedge-like in the least, unless you want to block out a third-story view.

I just planted one plant of pittosporum tenufolium Silver Sheen. The label said it gets 6 to 8 feet tall, although I've seen reference to it getting taller. At least it will be easier to prune, the stems are much thinner than osmanthus.

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Comments (8)

bahia
14 years ago
Have you checked with plant brokers for wholesale nurseries? 15 gallon sized Osmanthus fragrans are not that common, but they should easily be available as 5 gallon. You do know that these can grow to become small trees, don't you? Osmanthus fragrans will take constant pruning to keep at 6 foot tall, and I would suggest that 8 foot tall is a more reasonable size. I have one that I planted 8 years ago that is already 18 feet tall.

I don't know of any wholesale nursery that is open on Saturdays besides San Marcos Growers down in Santa Barbara, so it sounds like you are willing to pay retail? Have you already checked with Sloat Nurseries, Berkeley Hort Nursery or East Bay Nursery here in Berkeley to see if they have/and/or can get them? You might also place a call to Pacific Nursery in Colma(wholesale only) to see if they have any.
jojosf
Original Author
14 years ago
Yes, we're willing to go to a retail or wholesale nursery. Anything to get the job done. Thanks for the tip about Osmanthus getting big. I think we're going to go ahead with it and prune like crazy. We would really like to get 15 gal size so that we have a decent hedge from the get-go.
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calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
14 years ago
There are several wholesale/retail nurseries in the Watsonville area. If they don't sell retail they would direct you to retail nurseries with their products. While I like the sweet olive I am not sure how they would respond to shearing to a hedge shape. Al
fluffybonbon
14 years ago
Hi all, I am also in bay area. I am looking to buy a small pot of osmanthus.
Or any of you plan to trim the osmanthus soon , please give me some cutting to propagate a new plant.
Can any one know where around peninsula? i don't drive a long distance.
Thanks for any help.
jojosf
Original Author
14 years ago
What a conundrum! My guess is that it depends on the varietal whether it gets huge or not. My idea is not to have it be a square trimmed hedge, rather a bush which is pruned into a hedge height. I chose osmanthus because my other neighbor has installed an ilex hedge and I thought the osmanthus would look good (but I didn't want ilex).
siegel2
14 years ago
They do get big. This one is outside Xian in China and said to be 1700 years old.

{{gwi:566282}}
hoovb zone 9 sunset 23
14 years ago
Cool photo, cagary.

Where can I find Osmanthus fragrans, 15 gallon

marie_louise

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Where can I find Osmanthus fragrans, 15 gallon

marie_louise

Comments (8)

bahia

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