Osmanthus fragrans 'Fudingzhu'

A superior selection of sweet olive. Red-tinged new growth only adds to its main appeal of late fall-blooming, intensely fragrant creamy-white flowers. Traditional plant of Chinese gardens. Evergreen to 10'+, especially useful trained as a small tree. Hardy to 10F. USDA zone 8.

The profuse blooming habit and sweetly fragrant white flowers makes this rarely-found selection of Tea Olive very appealing. Flowers are borne almost continuously from fall to spring. Flowers of the Sweet Olive are used in Asian dishes to impart their fragrance into food and teas. An easy and problem free, long-lived, large evergreen shrub. Sweet Olives or Tea Olives are easy to grow evergreen shrubs or small trees whose fragrant flowers will often grace your garden from fall to spring. Osmanthus are adaptable to a wide range of soil types from sandy loams to clay but do need adequate drainage for best results. These durable evergreens can be grown in containers and will lend themselves to pruning and shaping as desired. For year round fragrance in zone 8 plant a Sweet Olive along with Sweet Almond Verbena, Gardenias, and Banana Magnolias. Sweet Olive is a 2009 Georgia Gold Medal Plant selection. A.k.a. Fudingzhu (an incorrect spelling) which according to Ted Stephens of Nurseries Caroliniana translates to 'pearls on Buddha's head'. In Japan the white flowered Sweet Olives or Tea Olives are known as Ginmokusei which translates to silver Osmanthus.

This new cultivar of Sweet Olive is remarkable for its large, fragrant bloom clusters. It flowers so heavily that the blossoms totally encircle the branches, and the leaves seem to emerge from the large bunches of white fragrant flowers. Unlike the standard Osmanthus fragrans, a mature shrub of 'Fudingzhu's' flowers are large enough to be seen from several hundred feet away! This variety reaches flowering size when only 6" tall and flowers from September to April. It can be grown outdoors in zones 8 and higher and prefers full sun to partial shade with good drainage and average moisture. It also performs well as a container plant if grown in good light with cooler temperatures during the winter months. 'Fudingzhu' translates to 'pearls on Buddha's head." The heady fragrance and magnitude of flower clusters will make 'Fudingzhu' one of your favorite plants.

Syn. 'Nanjin's Beauty'. The best flower display of the group and with the same fabulous scent. These blooms have the wow factor for Osmanthus -- easy to see even hundreds of feet away! Blooms just packed in bunches along the stens over a long period (some sources say for 9 months?) which we can confirm but definitely longer. Same 4" long olive green leaves.