Tourists began enjoying sweet-scented osmanthus in a park in
southern Shanghai during the past weekend, making this the earliest
the flower has blossomed in decades.
It is rare to see the flowers blossom in mid September as they
usually won't give off sweet scent until the end of the month, said
several local gardening experts, according to the Shanghai Morning
Post.
Last Saturday was the White Dew according to tradition Chinese
solar terms for the year, meaning temperature will start to
fall.
The osmanthus needs high temperatures during the day that don't
exceed 25 degrees Celsius, and the nightly low should be at least
five degrees cooler than the daytime, for at least one week for the
plant to bloom.
Experts attributed the early blossom to increasing differences
in the temperatures during days and nights in the past few weeks,
which offered the osmanthus the necessary nutrition and dew to
blossom.
However, high temperatures may shorten the first wave of
blossoms to five days. The high climbed above 30 degrees Celsius
during the past two days.
Experts said if there is a sufficient amount of rain, local
residents may enjoy a large number of sweet-scented osmanthus
during the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on September 25 this
year.
It's a custom for Chinese people to hold family reunions and
enjoy the smell of osmanthus during the festival.
Guilin Park in Xuhui District, Shanghai Botanic Garden in Xuhui
and the Grand View Garden in Qingpu District are the best places to
appreciate the sweet-scented flowers in Shanghai.
(Shanghai Daily September 11, 2007)
