Hoping to get any comments, opinions re osmanthus from China.

The seller has suggested the following four, but there's not much info out there.

- changbingjingui

- sushengjingui

- fugui
- zhushagui

Thanks!

those four will be be very fragnant but you will wait 4-8 years before they bloom, and they only bloom in fall. both tiangxiangtaige and rixianggui are four season rebloomers, fudingzhu is too, but scent is weaker.

Glad glad to see someone stating fudingzhu is light on fragrance. More impressed with regular osmanthus than with fudingzhu

here's my fudingzhu ready to bloom

Thanks for all your feedback. The seller was concerned about the plants surviving the temps in Canada. Like everyone else, he's under the impression that we live under arctic conditions haha. Having said that, hardiness is a concern. What are your experiences? I don't mind a single flowering variety (after all, magnolias & many other plants are the same) if the fragrance and hardiness is optimal.

You can always put it in a container and move it indoor for winter, it's common practice in China. Although I don't live in cold climate, I put mine in containers too because soils in my garden are poor, containers are easier to control.

I have grown too lazy to haul pots around, haha. Especially since I use ceramic or clay pots instead of plastic which means they are heavy. Even my gardenia and orange trees are now inside all year round.

I think I will take the chance - I think they should be ok. The seller said osmanthus are usually hardy down to -10C.

Vancouver does not mean cold weather to Osmanthus. All four cultivars you mentioned can grow well on ground outside if you porvided them light acidic soil. If you really do not want to adjust the soil to acidic every year or two, you have better to graft the Osmanthus onto Chionanthus. However, the Sushengjingui grows too fast and too big, I do not suggest it.

Thanks for that info - I really have a lack of space in my garden. Too many trees/shrubs:) No Sushengjinqui for me then.

I am lucky to have naturally acidic soil in my area since I love magnolias & other acid-loving plants. (Except I can't get pink hydrangeas) Hopefully I can get the osmanthus shipped from China without problems.

Then the other Chinese flower I suggest to you is Chimonanthus praecox, 腊梅。

This plant has always been tempting me. However I do not have a big sunny spot available in my garden. Not sure if I can make it happy in a pot. I ended up planting a hamamellis mollis instead since it's ok with shade.

How would you describe/rate Chimonanthus scent? Say, in comparison to osmanthus or daphne odora?

Wintersweet has an intense scent that reminds me of jasmine sambac.

Maggie, could you post a picture when your purchase arrive? I'm interested in a Rixianggui, (now is too cold to order, so maybe next Spring). Thanks!

Really? Now I am intrigued. Perhaps I can find a corner somewhere, haha. Problem is, I don't often see it for sale here, probably because people want more ornamental foliage & also don't have patience to wait for flowers.

I will also wait a bit before ordering but I'll definitely post the results.

Hello - I tried Google Translate on these words, but didn't have any luck translating into English. Are these names that don't have a meaning in English? Thanks!

- changbingjingui

- sushengjingui

- fugui

- zhushagui

I'm in the same boat - can't read/write my own language sadly. Those are just approximated phoneticized Chinese words and not the actual characters so I don't think it would work with Google translate.

I gor some descriptions out of their website but some of them have no info at all.

Maggie - I tried searching google for "jingui" and the top results started with "gold shield". "Jingui" didn't give me anything in Google Translate, but if you translate "gold" from English it gives you the Chinese character and also "Jīn", so possibly the first two are the orange-flowered type? If one of these is a strongly scented fall blooming type with white flowers, then that would be the one for me. Next, finding where to buy one :-)

if you go to the site, they do have photos of each one, so that helps if you're looking for a particular colour. For me, I was most interested in fragrance and then growth habit.

Thank you, Jimi Chu. That tip about yingui helped me find this earlier thread that is also really interesting-

http://forums.gardenweb.com/discussions/1901624/osmanthus-fragrans-papers

Maybe you could contact the center for advice.

INTERNATIONAL CULTIVAR REGISTRATION CENTER FOR OSMANTHUS

http://www.ishs.org/sci/icralist/81.htm

The EU have a list of plants which pass the VCU test.

https://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/plant_propagation_material/plant_variety_catalogues_databases_en

And there is also trials for Osmanthus fragrans in China.

Though there are several Osmanthus fragrans passed the official variety trial of certain province, but all are in the subtropical provinces which latitude are familiar. (Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan. It is an independent test in each province. And there are smaller trial regions under province. )

http://www.lmzm.org/lzcx.html (Chinese)

Osmanthus fragrans cv.『Jin Qiu gui'

Osmanthus fragrans 『Caihongliujin'

Osmanthus fragrans『Chuandan-12』

Osmanthus fragrans cv.『Zhuang Yuan hong'

Osmanthus fragrans『Yulian Yinsi'

Osmanthus fragrans『Yuling Long'

Osmanthus fragrans 『Jinyu Taige'

0smanthus fragrans 『Jinman yuan'

Osmanthus fragrans var. thunbergii Makino

Osmanthus fragrans『Xiaoye Sugui'

Osmanthus fragrans 』xideguizi'

Osmanthus fragrans『Hangzhou Huang'

(All official variety trial of the plants which governed by the Bureau of Forestry )

By the way, Here is the page of plants which passed the official variety trial of the plant which governed by the Department of Agriculture.

http://www.seed.gov.cn:4000/CountrySeed/SpeciesDemand/Default.aspx?type=1

P.S. There are no Osmanthus fragrans in the AGM list but other Osmanthus species.

https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/pdfs/agm-lists/agm-ornamentals

Osmanthus delavayi 1993 H5

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Goshiki' (v) 2012 H5

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Purple Shaft' 2012 H5

Osmanthus heterophyllus 'Variegatus' (v) 1993 H5

Osmanthus yunnanensis 2012 H5

Osmunda cinnamomea 1997 H7

changbin"gjingui" might be 長柄"金桂"

susheng"jingui" might be 速生"金桂"

fu"gui" might be 馥"桂"

zhusha"gui" might be 硃砂"桂" and might be "dangui" "丹桂"

Hi everyone! I'm interested in buying rixianggui from that seller, but I'm a little hesitant because of the price (and I've already accidentally killed a sweet olive I bought from a US vendor). It'll be $15 for the plant (not bad), but $25 to ship it... $40 for one plant is a little much for my budget right now, unless it's absolutely worth the cost. How large/hardy are the plants you received? Was it worth the cost? Is there a big/noticeable difference between it and fudingzhu? I'm looking to grow it as a houseplant. Thanks!

@skysong4, I bought one and it died, shipping was the killer. nurcar has many varieties, you will have a better chance buying from them.

How to get in touch with the Osmanthus seller in China. Nurseries Caroliniana are no good!

How to get in touch with the Osmanthus seller in China. Nurseries Caroliniana are no good!

There are official lists which are under the mainland China export certification programs just as the US ones. But there are still other US import quarantine requirement just as the mainland China ones. And the regulation is only federally or country level, there should be export certification, and import quarantine regulations at the states or provinces level.

http://dzs.customs.gov.cn/dzs/2747042/3972282/index.html

http://dzs.customs.gov.cn/dzs/2747042/3972282/2021102811051199109.xls

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/sa_export/sa_acns/ct_certification

https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/ourfocus/planthealth/import-information

The above mentioned is useless to me. No contact details for the Osmanthus seller in China! Nurseries Caroliniana are useless

Maggie,

if you read this thread, would you mind sharing the email, website or contact information from the seller in China.

Did you end up buying the osmanthus ftom China? which one did you buy? did it arrive in good condition? did it survive and grow in your area?

Thanks