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Ochna integerrima
Yellow mai (Ochna integerrima) is a small tree or shrub, 2 to 7 m tall in the wild, famous for its bright yellow flowers that bloom around Tet in Vietnam, where it is often grown as a bonsai. It grows best in moist but well-drained soil and must not stand in waterlogged conditions.
Ochna integerrima, popularly called yellow Mai flower (Vietnamese: mai vàng, hoa mai, hoàng mai in southern Vietnam, although in the north, mai usually refers to Prunus mume), is a plant species in the genus Ochna () and family Ochnaceae. In the wild, it is a small tree or shrub species (2-7 m tall). The timing of the yellow flowers of this plant make it very popular in southern Vietnam, where (often bonsai-style) plants are purchased during Tết.
In Vietnam, the variety of O. integerrima whose flowers have five petals is called mai vàng (yellow mai), whereas mai núi (mountain mai) flowers have between five and nine petals.
Ochna integerrima is both easy to grow and to take care of. Farmers choose good seeds, soak them in water, and sow them in moist soil (either in pots or in a garden). Some practices also include coating the seeds with sugar to help them grow stronger.
Ochna integerrima likes moist and light soil, cannot stand waterlogging. Therefore, it is necessary to grow Ochna integerrima in high places and water them regularly. If growing in pots, pay attention to fertilizing and change the soil every year. To have a beautiful flower pot, we should often pay attention to cutting branches, bending branches, creating a posture to have unique shaped Ochna integerrima pots.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Ochna integerrima by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
