This past weekend, I noticed an unexpected fragrance from the mixed border that surrounds our home. It didn’t take long to realize that it was time for the amazing Autumn tea olives, Osmanthus fragrans to begin their perfumed floral show. The first to open for us this year is the amazing Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus ‘Beni Kin Mokusei’. To say that this evergreen shrub is amazing would be so much of an understatement. For decades, this cultivar was the holy grail for osmanthus collectors because of its supposed red flowers. Well, we can only assume that the Japanese nurseryman who named it is rather color blind. The flower color is darker orange than the old form of Osmanthus fragrans var. aurantiacus, and the habit is much more dense. The cultivar name actually isn’t valid either, as it simply says “red flowering osmanthus” in Japanese. Below is our un-pruned 10 year old specimen in full glory. Hardiness Zone 7a-9b.
That is amazing & glorious!
And the deer don’t eat them!
Supposedly they bloom in every month with an “R”.
That’s quite a stretch.
Im so glad you showed the whole tree and the close up. Most just show the close up featuring huge trusses of bright flowers. Yes the flowers are not huge trusses they are insignificant and well hidden in the leaves even in deep orange. We had a whitish flowered version and to be honest if it wasn’t for the intoxicatingly pleasant smell you could walk right past without noticing it was even in heavy bloom. It’s all about the hidden scent with this plant. Which is fun and delightful. Small gardens with critical choices to make might just choose something with more impactful flowers and scent. Because with limited space this one just sits there like a lump of green most of the time, otherwise I would say one of life’s perfect luxuries in a large garden.