When does osmanthus bloom?
Abstract: This article discusses when osmanthus blooms and provides tips on caring for osmanthus during its flowering period, as well as knowledge about flowers. Detailed introduction is provided below.
Every year, in August and September, it is the season for osmanthus to bloom. If you have an osmanthus potted plant at home, the entire courtyard will be filled with the strong fragrance of osmanthus flowers during the flowering period.
Now is a critical period for the growth of osmanthus flower buds. Every year, some gardening enthusiasts make mistakes in caring for their plants, which results in the plants not blooming normally during the flowering period. What I'm sharing with you today is that during the current stage of osmanthus flower bud growth, there are three mistakes in maintenance that you cannot make, otherwise there will be no flowers to enjoy during the flowering period.
Do not prune branches
When the temperature cools down in autumn, many gardening enthusiasts start pruning the flowers at home, cutting off some tangled and weak branches and fertilizing them to supplement nutrients, hoping to promote rapid growth of the plants.
Pruning in autumn should also be differentiated for different flowers. For example, pruning the excessive growth of branches and leaves in early autumn for flowers like roses, jasmines, and bougainvilleas can encourage them to bloom again. However, for flowers like osmanthus, which are just beginning to grow flower buds in the early autumn, pruning branches can easily cut off the flowering branches, resulting in no flowers when the flowering period arrives.
Therefore, do not rush to prune the branches of osmanthus in the early autumn. Wait until the plant has finished flowering and the flowering period is over before pruning and supplementing nutrients, so that the plant can safely overwinter.
Do not water too frequently
After the weather cools down, most flowers resume vigorous growth and their demand for water also increases significantly, so watering should be slightly increased. Of course, this refers to flowers in the growing period. For osmanthus, it is still not appropriate to water it excessively.
Osmanthus is in the stage of growing flower buds, and too much water can actually affect the growth of flower buds, causing the plant to grow more branches and leaves while reducing the formation of flower buds. Appropriate control of watering, keeping the potting soil slightly dry, can create a sense of crisis for the plant, prompting it to grow more flower buds and complete flowering.
Do not apply nitrogen fertilizer
Some gardening enthusiasts worry that the plants lack nutrients, which may affect flowering. They also fertilize the plants during the flower bud growth stage to supplement nutrients. Sufficient nutrients are necessary for abundant blooming and a stronger fragrance.
However, not all fertilizers can promote flowering during the flower bud growth stage. Random fertilization can not only fail to increase the number of flowers but also easily cause flower drop and bud drop. In this stage, especially less nitrogen fertilizer should be applied, as too much nitrogen will promote the growth of branches and leaves and reduce the growth of flower buds.
If you want osmanthus to grow more flower buds, you can now supplement some phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. For example, you can spray 0.2% monopotassium phosphate on the branches and leaves every week, spray evenly between the branches and leaves, maintain sufficient phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, which can promote the plant to bloom more.
Do not shade
In the summer, to prevent the tender branches and leaves of osmanthus from getting sunburned, you can shade it appropriately and place the potted plant in a place with scattered light. However, after the autumn begins, the plant starts to differentiate a large number of flower buds. If it is not allowed to see the sun, the plant will not grow a large number of flower buds, and even if a small number of flowers bloom, their fragrance will be faint.
This is because the growth and development of the plant require ample sunlight. When sunlight is insufficient, the plant may grow very few flower buds, affecting the quality of flowering. Now, you should move the osmanthus potted plant to a place with better sunlight and let the plant receive more sunlight to perform photosynthesis, which can promote a large number of buds and blooming.
The above sharing about when osmanthus blooms and the comprehensive method of caring for osmanthus during the flowering period is hoped to provide a starting point for solving your plant care problems.