Reasons and countermeasures for osmanthus not blooming

1. Poor sleep

Osmanthus flowers need to be brought indoors to dormant in winter, preferably at a low temperature of 2-4℃. They often do not dormant well in an environment above 8℃, and will sprout and spread leaves prematurely, making the branches weak, lacking nutrition, and having poor resistance to stress, resulting in few or no flowers.

2. Insufficient light

Osmanthus is a long-day plant that likes sunlight. If the potted flowers are placed in a shaded place for a long time during the growth and development period, insufficient light will cause the plants to grow too long, become soft and weak, and the leaves will become pale and yellow, affecting the differentiation of flower buds and resulting in no flowering.

3. Improper fertilization

Too much nitrogen fertilizer is applied to osmanthus during the growing period, while less phosphorus fertilizer is applied during the bud stage to promote flower bud differentiation and formation. The plant is prone to excessive growth and excessive vegetative growth, which affects flower bud differentiation, easily resulting in few or no flowers, and even if it blooms, the flowers will not be fragrant.

4. Overwatering

Osmanthus is afraid of stagnant water. Excessive watering during the winter dormancy period and the growing season, and frequent water accumulation in the flowerpots, can easily cause root rot and leaf fall, causing the plant branches to grow thin and weak, seriously affecting flowering.

5. Improper management

If potted osmanthus is not repotted or the soil is not changed for a long time, the soil will be deficient in nutrients, and the roots will be tangled and unable to stretch, which will make it difficult for the roots to absorb nutrients, and also affect flowering. Furthermore, if osmanthus is not pruned for many years, an imbalance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth will occur, which will also lead to less flowering or no flowering.

6. Soot pollution

Osmanthus is afraid of coal smoke. If potted flowers are placed in an environment easily polluted by coal smoke for a long time, they will grow poorly, their leaves will become smaller and easily fall off, which will seriously affect the flowering of the plants.

7. Pest and disease damage

Osmanthus is susceptible to diseases and pests such as anthracnose and scale insects. If not controlled in time, its flowering will also be affected. In addition, mistakenly cutting the spring shoots will affect flowering that year. If you break off too many branches of blooming osmanthus, it will weaken its growth and affect its future flowering.

Take appropriate measures

1. Ensure low temperature hibernation. The wintering temperature for potted osmanthus is 3-5 degrees Celsius. It does not need to be brought indoors when it is above 3 degrees Celsius, and the natural temperature can be maintained. When it is below 3 degrees Celsius, it can be brought indoors. After bringing it indoors, it will be put into hibernation at low temperatures so that it can thrive and bloom luxuriantly the next year.

2. When moving the plant out of the house in spring, it should be moved outdoors on a cloudy or rainy day. Avoid sudden exposure to the sun on a hot day. The plant should be allowed to gradually adapt to the outdoor environment.

3. Ensure long-term sunshine, with more than 10 hours of sunshine per day to meet sunshine needs.

4. Water reasonably. The moisture content should be maintained at 30%. In hot summer, 60% moisture content is appropriate. Do not keep it too dry or too wet.

5. Nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied too much, and should be applied together with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. Osmanthus requires a lot of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, and can be fertilized externally, by spraying 0.1%-0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves.

6. Prevent pollution. You can use fine gauze to gently wipe the leaves to keep the leaf surface clean. Wipe it once on the 15th day to facilitate photosynthesis and make the plant grow healthily.

7. The soil in the pot should be replaced if it has been there for too long. Change the potting soil once every 1-2 years. When changing the pot, apply a small amount of hoof slices as base fertilizer at the bottom of the pot.

8. Proper pruning. Before moving indoors, cut off diseased and weak branches, as well as overly dense branches, and prune them appropriately according to the shape of the plant to allow for ventilation and light, and promote flowering.