The origin of the osmanthus tree is regarded as an auspicious choice for the homeland
Since ancient times, the Chinese have a saying that "the first mulberry tree is planted and the latter is planted with willows, and the garden lotus lotus" is regarded as an important symbol of family prosperity. Among them, the osmanthus tree is favored by calligraphers, painters, literati and scholars in the past dynasties, and is known as the "gentleman in the flower".
This is not only because the osmanthus is very eye-catching, its evergreen, autumn fragrant characteristics, but also related to the aesthetic tradition of the Chinese nation advocating plum orchid bamboo chrysanthemum. In people's hearts, the rich fragrance of osmanthus indicates a happy family and a successful career.
Therefore, when selecting the site, the osmanthus tree is mostly planted in the bright place, which means "the osmanthus tree in front of the door, and the noble people stand in the door".
As the saying goes, "the tree is a thousand feet high, and the leaves fall more silently", seemingly wordless plants, but they carry the long-standing cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. This kind of use of plants in nature to symbolize the auspiciousness of the world also shows the uniqueness of the Chinese worldview.
The reason why the osmanthus tree was so popular with scholars and literati in history was that they were more able to interpret the cultural connotations contained in it.
With the changes of the times, the pace of modern life has accelerated, and "quick finished products" are favored. Such a plant, which takes time to operate, but can reflect the deep roots and leaves of the family, is even more precious.
Therefore, we still recommend that when feng shui and space permit, we should plant more osmanthus trees, so that this kind of plant with auspicious meaning can decorate your home and lead your family to have a smooth career and a double cultivation of blessing and wisdom.
At the beginning of the 21st century, the osmanthus tree was once popular in the social background
At the beginning of the 21st century, with the rapid development of the mainland economy, many people began to own their own real estate, so they naturally paid more attention to the layout of their homes. At the same time, traditional Chinese culture has also been revived, and many people have re-examined ancient wisdom such as Feng Shui and Kanyu.
"There is a windfall, before the osmanthus blooms. This homophonic proverb became a good story that was passed down orally at that time.
As a result, for a time, the osmanthus tree became the "star plant" in the courtyard. Whether in the city or in the countryside, you can see osmanthus trees planted in front of people's homes or windows everywhere.
There are even many courtyard owners who will set up stone benches and tea tables under several osmanthus trees, so that everyone can drink tea and enjoy the scenery and drink wine in their leisure time.
With the advent of the Internet era, more and more plant-loving "Internet celebrities" have also begun to share their osmanthus trees at home. When this "planting osmanthus tree" atmosphere spreads on the Internet, the good osmanthus seedlings on the market are in short supply, and the price continues to rise.
Under the impact of a dazzling array of novel plants, the social psychological analysis of osmanthus falling out of favor
With the deepening of reform and opening up, China has gradually integrated into the world economic system, and its contact with foreign things has become more and more frequent. In the field of garden greening, the impact of this globalization is the influx of exotic plants into the domestic market.
For example, succulents from South America, with their strangely shaped thick fleshy leaves, bring strong visual stimulation to people. At the same time, their different forms and colorful characteristics also meet the diverse aesthetic needs of modern people, and are also very in line with the characteristics of limited space and time resources in modern urban life.
In contrast, the traditional Chinese beauty of the osmanthus tree is too old-fashioned and boring in the eyes of some. The freshness of "the foreign moonlight is more vivid than the hometown moonlight" makes some city people who pursue fashion more favored these "alien plants" from foreign countries.
Actually, this is just a surface. Compared with traditional flowers such as osmanthus trees, the survival rate of novel invasive plants is actually lower, and many people eventually give up on such high-risk "new favorites".
Plants with origins can resonate more with people's hearts. Therefore, the author believes that when this "freshness" passes, the famous flowers inherited from ancient times in the mainland will definitely return to people's vision, among which the osmanthus tree will regain its former style.
Comparison data between old and new flowers and plants
We can compare the performance of several typical new invasive ornamental plants with osmanthus trees in the market to explain the changes in consumer choices and preferences.
For example, cactus, as one of the common succulents in the family, has seen a geometric increase in domestic sales from 2014 to 2019, with the latest data reaching about 15 billion yuan, while the sales of osmanthus trees in the same period were basically flat at around 2 billion yuan.
The situation is similar for the newly invaded herbaceous hydrangea, which has seen a 500% increase in sales over the past five years.
In terms of price, the price of an osmanthus seedling is about 300-1000 yuan, and many new invasive flower plants are much higher due to the lack of market, such as a red leaf heather plant is also sold for more than 3000 yuan.
This also shows that novelty plants are seizing the market share of traditional flowers, and some families have indeed shifted their consumption choices.
Of course, in the long run, changes in local data do not tell the whole story. When this novelty passes, people's pursuit of family and country feelings will also bring traditional plants back to the stage.
Contemporary people are no longer keen on the status quo of osmanthus
"Ten years of laurel tree on the same branch, a hundred years of family sound. This proverb shows the deep connection between the osmanthus tree and the common fate of the family. However, the changes in contemporary life are diluting this connection, causing people to no longer be as enthusiastic about planting osmanthus as they used to be.
Take a typical family in Z City as an example. The family of four lives in a new community renovated from an urban village, with an 80-square-meter house and a terrace of less than 10 square meters.
In order to revitalize the space, they set up shelves on the terrace and planted some flowers and plants. Among them, salinity-tolerant climbing vine flowers such as ivy and geranium are the main choices.
"If you want to plant osmanthus, you have to find a big pot. A terrace of this size, where can I put it. The old lady at home said.
Indeed, for urban families like them with limited living conditions, it is almost impossible to choose osmanthus, which will only take up too much space. Modern people have too much realistic pressure to survive, where can they still take care of these traditional meanings.
Similarly, there is a middle-class family on the outskirts of City B. They have a small yard, but it is full of all kinds of miscellaneous things, and their lives are too busy to take care of it. In the end, only a simple flower stand was placed on the balcony and some flowers were planted.
Those foreign varieties bought from the flower market are small in size and have a long flowering period, and relatively speaking, they are more practical.
Osmanthus may return to fading out of the planting recommendations
Although the osmanthus tree has lost its former glory, we still recommend that if possible, you may want to try planting this traditional flower in your home yard.
First of all, osmanthus trees do not have high environmental requirements, and are suitable for acidic to neutral soil, ordinary flower garden soil or humus soil. The focus is on good drainage and plenty of sunshine.
If your courtyard is large enough and the sun can reach it, the osmanthus tree is still an excellent choice.
Secondly, it is relatively easy to propagate osmanthus trees, whether it is cuttings, grafting or sowing. After buying healthy seedlings, choose a suitable season, plant them as required, water and fertilize them on time, and they will soon grow into towering trees.
The key is to take care of it in the later stage, which requires you to put in some time and thought.
Moreover, as one of the ancient garden flowers in the mainland, the cultural heritage contained in the osmanthus tree is still worth remembering. The trees are three feet high, and the flowers bloom for nine miles, this magnificent scene can always evoke people's memories of their homeland.
Of course, if your garden is too small, we don't recommend planting osmanthus reluctantly, which is not good for the growth of trees. For larger yards, you can try trees with smaller and more varied flowers, such as ginkgo, sweetgum, and kapok.
There is really only very little space, it is recommended to take a look at all kinds of fragrant and salt-tolerant potted plants in the flower market, which may also bring unexpected surprises.