It's one of our favorite trees: The Fragrant Tea Olive. Tea Olives grow slowly, but they're manageable, long-lived and easy to maintain. And though they don't produce literal olives, they have an amazing aroma and truly live up to their name.
So, if you're looking for sweet fragrance, effortless care and good looks (plus versatility with blooms for months), look no further. With our care tips, you'll be well on your way to incorporating a Tea Olive or two into your landscape.
Scouting the Area
Our Fragrant Tea Olive is usually planted outside, but it's suited for container growing, too. And that's good news for you because indoor or patio growth means that weather isn't an issue, though the Fragrant Tea Olive is hardy down to 10 degrees.
If you bring it indoors or on the patio during cold weather, just ensure you place it by a sunny window, as it needs full to partial sun to thrive (about 4 to 8 hours of sunlight per day).
Outdoors
However, our Fragrant Tea Olive truly thrives outdoors. Plant them near your entryway, windows or patio, and on breezy days, the fragrance carries. And where other fragrant plants only offer one month of aroma, our Fragrant Tea Olive blooms for four months and leaves an amazing aroma that fills your yard.
Simply plant your Fragrant Tea Olives in rows, 4 to 5 feet apart to create a lush, thick privacy hedge. Other planting options include foundations, specimen plantings within flower beds or in natural areas. The Fragrant Tea Olive adapts on any soil and continues to grow through neglect, so whether they're planted in the ground or in a container, our instructions are the same: Well-drained soil, 4 to 8 hours of sunlight and a hole that's about one and a half to two times the width of your plant's root ball.
Once you're ready, place your Fragrant Tea Olive in your freshly-dug hole, back fill any soil and then water to settle its roots.
Ongoing Care
Thankfully, our Fragrant Tea Olives are hassle-free, but proper ongoing care prepares them for a long, lush life. First, ensure that you set a regular watering schedule - generally, watering your Fragrant Tea Olive about once a week is good.
But if you're not sure when to water, simply check your Tea Olive's soil with your finger, down to at least 2 or 3 inches. If the soil is dry, it's time to water.
Aside from that, no serious pest or disease issues affect the Tea Olive. Pruning is straight-forward too - just remove any dead or damaged growth for best results. Because the Tea Olive grows at such a manageable rate, it acclimates to any area without much intervention.
More Planting Tips
Basically, the Fragrant Tea Olive is really easy to plant and maintain. You're probably thinking there's more to it, but that's it. However, we do have a couple more tips to make your Tea Olive even more successful:
- Fertilize with a well-balanced, slow-release blend once or twice yearly, before new growth begins in the spring and again at the end of summer.
- But if you're looking for immediate blooms and fragrance, plant our larger 3 gallon plants. They're up to a year older and are perfect for a ready-made landscape.
Pretty blooms, fresh fragrance and straight-forward growth: The Fragrant Tea Olive has it all. See what all the hype's about and get yours today!
