20 to 25 feet

This large evergreen shrub or small tree is capable of reaching 20 to 25 feet in height and width but is most often seen at 10 to 12 feet high with an 8-foot- spread (Fig. 1). Older plants grow as wide as tall and develop a vase shape with several main trunks typically originating close to the ground.

Osmanthus is also called false holly because the leathery leaves are similar to those of holly, even if they aren’t spiky.

Lastly, you should know that if you hope to grow Osmanthus in a pot, nothing should stop you because this shrub is perfectly suited to growing in pots and containers.

• Best select Osmanthus x burkwoodii for growing in a pot or garden box.

Among the many interesting species and varieties of osmanthus, you’ll find:

• Osmanthus x burkwoodii
• Osmanthus delavayi
• Osmanthus fragrans
• Osmanthus heterophyllus

It is an evergreen shrub or small tree growing to 3–12 m (9.8–39.4 ft) tall. The leaves are 7–15 cm (2.8–5.9 in) long and 2.6–5 cm (1.0–2.0 in) broad, with an entire or finely toothed margin. The flowers are white, pale yellow, yellow, or orange-yellow, small, about 1 cm (0.39 in) long, with a four-lobed corolla 5 mm (0.20 in) diameter, and have a strong fragrance, they are produced in small clusters in the late summer and autumn. The fruit is a purple-black drupe 10–15 mm (0.39–0.59 in) long containing a single hard-shelled seed, it is mature in the spring about six months after flowering.

It is cultivated as an ornamental plant in East Asian gardens, and gardens in Europe, North America, and elsewhere in the world for its deliciously fragrant flowers which carry the scent of ripe peaches or apricots.

A number of cultivars have been selected for garden use, with varying flower colors, such as Osmanthus fragrans 'Yanhua' with its variegated foliage and orange blooms.

Within Japan, the white- and orange-blossoming subspecies are distinguished as ginmokusei (銀木犀, lit. silver osmanthus) and kinmokusei (金木犀, lit.gold osmanthus), respectively.

Può crescere fino a 6m in altezza alla fine, anche se più generalmente rimane più compatto e arrotondato in forma, in genere raggiungendo un'altezza massima di circa 3m. L'Osmanthus delavayi è stato premiato con il RHS Award of Garden Merit.