Osmanthus heterophyllus
Suited for formal gardens, sheltered entrances, topiary compositions and projects wanting year-round presence with low maintenance and resistance to urban pollution.
With a dense, compact canopy, it keeps its evergreen, leathery foliage (with small marginal spines resembling holly) all year round. In autumn and winter, it blooms discreetly with small, intensely fragrant white flowers. It adapts to sun or part shade, tolerates chalky soils and, once established, needs practically no watering.
It typically reaches between 2.5 and 4 metres in height in multi-stem form, with slow-to-moderate growth. It tolerates formative pruning well without losing density, which makes it suited both as a stand-alone specimen and in tall, clipped hedges.
It is also a frequent choice for landscape architecture projects seeking visual continuity between seasons, since the foliage does not undergo seasonal drop or colour change.
