PlantFiles Pictures: Sweet Olive, Fragrant Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans), 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Hazel,

I was wondering if you could help me with a problem that I'm having with my Osmanthus fragrans "Fudingzhu." I bought one of these from Nurseries Caroliniana late last summer. It bloomed wonderfully after it arrived. Here's a picture of it below. But last winter, it started to drop its leaves, and by spring, it was bare. I had hoped the leaves would return with the warmer weather, but it appeared to be dying. The roots looked healthy when I transferred it to a new container just recently. The woody portion on top appeared to be dead, and so I cut it off, leaving only a stump. What I would like to know if anyone has ever cut theirs back to the base and had it regrow from the base or the roots? Thanks! By the way, I have another regular Osmanthus fragrans that is doing well so I'm not sure what happend with "Fudingzhu." Thanks for your help.