How to grow Fragrant Tea Olive - Osmanthus Fragrans - Guìhuā 

"Osmanthus wine tastes the same as i remember... But where are those who share the memory"

This is probably THE most popular plant in China. The flowers are insanely fragrant!!!

These literally smell so intoxicatingly good

Mine smells like an heirloom rose, AMAZING smell!

Amen....in Georgia, my plant gets about 6 hours of direct Summer sun....and he is rocking and rolling. He is now 5 years old....I only watered and fertilized him when I transplanted as a cutting at year 2. I have never watered or fed again. (LOL) We had a 6 week and no rain run this summer, and it didn't bother him at all.

I smelt it outside the botanic gardens in Melbourne, it was amazing it was like "whats that awesome sweet smell?" then I saw the Osmanthus.

I've only seen it once, which was in North Carolina. A wealthy family bought a tree from China half a century ago and it was about 2 stories tall when I visited that mansion in 2019. It was the most pleasant scent I'd ever smelled in my life. I wish they would grow it in New York.

I have a large back yard and a small tea olive and I ALWAYS know when it's blooming. Almost magical how this plant perfumes the air. Think creamy nectarine.

This is my favorite smell! So incredibly sweet and light.

I'm in taiwan, and these are very common. I have 5 potted 桂花. I love them. Love the smell. Because its sooooo hot here, I need to water frequently otherwise they dry quickly and leave brown on the tips. When I first got them, I didn't know they needed as much water here as they did and almost lost the 2 pots I started with.

Thanks for the tips! I'm excited! I ordered one today with orange flowers. Zone 8. I'm going to plant 2 on both sides of my Golden Rain Tree and small naturally round evergreen shrubs. I need privacy from a very noisy neighbor. It's going to look beautiful... nice view instead of my noisy neighbors standing at their porch looking at me as I am minding my own business. I'm also considering 2 or 3 Blue Point Junipers for more screening on my corner lot.

Very informative video with important details for anyone considering if and where to plant. I have had one for two years now in zone 7A and as the video said it does get some leaf burn after winter in my location in Maryland. In winter I mulch the base with about 6 or more inches of shredded leaves, then wrap the tree in row cloth. In the spring I trim off any winter burn area. I love this plant; although the flowers are small, their fragrance travels to other parts of the garden without be too strong. It has a nice light scent that gently wafts throughout the property.

I’d like to see Osmanthus fragrans growing in some landscapes. Thanks for the informative video.

This is 桂花, and its sweet smell reminds me of the Chinese moon festival in the fall. I love it! Just planted 4 in my backyard. Great video! Thank you!

This video inspired me to get one of these for my yard. The smell really is wonderful. Thanks Jim. :)

Hi Jim. Would love to see you do more individual plant educational videos as these. I miss them.

Is it Zhongli approved?

Another good video Jim. See a lot of this tea olive in Hong Kong parks and other Asian cities. Wonderful scent.

Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember...but where are those who share the memory...

Last year I planted 2 sweet olives shrubs. I was told about the wonderful sweet smell but didn’t get any flowers last year and didn’t get any this spring. I live in lower Alabama. They are planted in the front of my house which faces east so they get direct morning sun until around 11:30 am and then have light but not direct sun. I fertilized them this spring with a slow release general fertilizer instead of the acid one you mentioned. They are each in their own single very big planter. They look good and are healthy…just no flowers. Although a few leaves did get a little frost burn.

I have these planted around the outside of my barn because they are non toxic to horses.

Thank you for the great information! I'm considering a tea olive as a screen between us and our neighbors.

Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember...

This is August in California here. It seems like we made a huge mistake that we just pruned and removed some stick up branches and woody stems on the tip top that shoots up. Thanks for your video sharing!

just bought one from Home Depot. Smells so good I wish I can keep it inside

Thank you for sharing. I can't wait to plant tea olive in my garden.

You touch on all the important issues regarding growing this plant. Thanks!

The most I like about this plant no pest like it and during fall no leaves drop on floor

Hi Jim, so happy to watch your video about tea olive. I’m from Taiwan, tea olive is a very popular tree in my home town. 17 years ago when I became a home owner, my sister asked what I would like as a house warming gift, I requested tea olive. I think the tree is happy in my home , it had grown from just a few inches to 5 feet now. I kept it indoor since I live in Connecticut and it would not survive the cold in the winter. About 3 years ago, the leaves started turning brown, but still produces lots of flowers, new leaves grow slower now and I notice that even the tips of the baby leaves turn brown. Please advise me how to bring the health back to my beloved sweet olive. Thanks so much.

Super helpful! I just assumed we couldn't grow it here (bc we can't have nice things...) but I might give it a try!

The flowers from these make the most wonderful teas! Now I know why mine has struggled a bit, too much full sun

Your video is so helpful I’m watching it again! Only weeks later! 😂 Mine arrived from Home Depot w/ some white spots on leaves. I suppose I need to neem oil spray it….

Very helpful, thank you!

Thanks Jim. Great video!

Osmanthus wine tastes the same as I remember, but where are those who share the memory? -some old broke geezer probably

How deep should I plant it under the ground and do I need to plant it with that plastic bucket? Tia I already liked it and subscribed

Thank you sir! Great Video!...I have clay soil...(Just removed about 2 tons of front garden bed). I am planning to plant this in a corner around some Golden lace junipers....

Do deer enjoy eating this?

Very informative, covering everything about shrub/tree. Thanks I got very uncomfortable watching you holding on to container, shifting back and forth from one hand to the other with help from leg. Don't you have a small table or place on ground and squat beside.

Thanks for sharing. Why are my tea olive leaves getting yellow and falling from the bottom?

I have some customers that have them. In September I can smell them a house away.

They get something like fire blight!!!

Can you grow a tea olive plant in a container and keep pruning it to control its size? I don't have a lot of room on my balcony to let to grow into a big tree.

Have you tried Chimonanthus Praecox? THE BEST winter fragrant bloomer!!!!

slow grower huh, well i'll see if i can't get it to grow faster by adding some horse manure to the hole i dig, because everytime i use horse manure it makes whatever is near it get super huge, so we'll see about that one

I'm looking at tea olive for screening that would be near or over top of a septic leach field. My local garden store said these shrubs have shallow roots and would be okay to plant. Based on your assessment of appropriate soil & water content, do you think these plans would do well near septic? I'm specifically looking at the orange and yellow flowering varieties. Thanks!

Hi, thanks for the video. I have one and I want to propagate it. How is it normally propagated?

I am in zone 8B and wondered best time to prune my tea olive plants?

I planted 5 Tea Olives for privacy on the side of my back yard about 3 years ago and I am so happy with them. I have done absolutely nothing to them and they are fabulous. My question is... now that they are about 5 feet tall do I need to do anything to them to insure they are full and sturdy as they grow to full height? I'd like them to grow together more and offer even more privacy.

Very hard to propagate under mist. What is the secret?

Hey Jim I want to plant a few of these along a fence as a screen. How far off the fence, and apart, should I plant them so that its not hanging over into their yard?

I am looking to plant these in NC, zone 7 but not sure if it's 7a. I wanted to use them to thicken the screen I have between me and a neighbor that is currently made with decent sized pines that aren't real thick. Would these grow very well right in line with those pines or would they stay small because of the competition with the larger trees? Thanks!

Nice

planted 20 around outskirts of front yard, but in the fall, and they've hardly grown at all. I've not mulched them either. Any suggestions to get them going?

How many feet apart should one plant these for a privacy screen?

Hi . Is tea olive the same as Fragrant Olive?

if kept in a large enough pot, in a very sunny window, can this be grown as a houseplant? TIA

What cultivar are you growing? The Chinese have over a hundred of them The Raulston Arboretum has some amazing orange and yellow-flowered clones which make the ordinary white-flowered stuff look boring.

I have three tea olives that have really shot up. How aggressively can it be pruned?

Hi Jim, Thanks so much for the video, it was great. My tea olive doesn’t have a lot of flowers and they all seem to be at the bottom. What can I do? It was not fertilized in the spring. Could this be the issue?

My sweet olive shrubs got a bunch of Florida Red Scale type pests on them. Are you familiar with this?

How far from a back fence should I plant a row of treats olives for privacy. I have a 125 foot fence across my back yard that I want to plant them in front of. Thanks.

Hi Jim. Does this make a good privacy hedge in south side morning dappled sun? I need a privacy hedge. Thank you for all the great info!

Our tea olive has been hidden behind another shrub and it’s now June. Should we trim off dead branches or just leave? We want it to fill in.

My plant has a leaf blight. How do I treat the blight?

I bought 4 of them - bare root - 1' tall-ish back at Xmas time. They went into pots with organic potting soil for the winter. 1 plant made it.. Brown spot, I think, is what it looked like before they dropped their leaves. Might you have a suggestion for the one that survived to protect it from that particular problem?

How far apart should I plant these to create an eventual privacy screen? Probably 60% sun in southern Louisiana. They will be planted along the bank of a canal that borders the back of the property

I planted one in my backyard here in FL zone 10a about 8 years ago. It’s still less than 5 feet tall and looks a bit puny. I can send pics so you can see it. But my question is… how can I encourage more growth for height as well fullness?

I planted three of these (Greensboro, NC zone 7b) along my West privacy fence where they get about 8-10 hrs of sun per day and they're getting tall but a bit scraggly. I've done very little pruning but now, I wonder if I could transplant them to the opposite side of the property next to the East fence and I don't want to wait for baby shrubs to grow to 10 feet. I'm thinking I should root prune them now (September 17) and maybe take off some of the height and then transplant them in Feb-Mar. Or is it too late to root prune to stimulate new feeder roots?

Hi Jim, I am having some Tea Olive plants installed by the landscaper, however there are three that have very few leaves which are mostly at the bottom and midway to the top o the plant is woody. I really don’t love the look. He assured me they will flush new growth and leaves, but they are just being put in... should I ask for healthier ones? Or are these healthy and will they grow? Thank you! Karen

Just planted an Osmanthus and afraid it may be catching a mold or blackspot from nearby Honeysuckle. Suggestions for treatment? Thank you, Steve

How can i get seeds or cuttings for this tree or other fragrant plants I'm in Barbados. Are these trees capable of growling in the tropics which only has dry & wet seasons NO CHILL FROST OR SNOW.

we watered ours too much - been hot in Georgia and they turned brown. The landscaper said back off on the water.....I figured because they were newly planted they needed a lot. will they come back once we slow the water??

Would one grow in northern ohio?

How long before one can expect to see flowers? Mine is in its second spring and I’ve yet to see a flower.

Hello if my tea olive is dry out does that mean its dead or its just hibernating ?

I have this plant with sweet fragrant orange flowers. My plant has become very tall.. around 12 feet. And the leaves and flowers show up mostly on the upper half of the plant. How do I trim it so that the height is reduced and I have flowers at a lower level? Will cutting it across horizontally, and little bit from down to reduce its span be okay?

We have a mature healthy osmanthus fragrans that is 20 feet tall. We want to cut it back. When should we prune it?

What is happening when half a leaf is brown? Over watering? It’s only 2 years old. In a large pot.

Hey jim... would you recommend planting a tea olive in a smaller space....between a patio and fence?? The space is wide enough for a golf cart to fit through. Thanks!!

Hello.I came to your sight to look for shrubs that will keep the neighbors.Lets say Bucks backyard from drifting into mine.The Back Yard isn't the biggest.The neighbors do have a nice 6 foot privacy fence and their dogs are older and don't bother me.But I was thinking of doing something with my Back yard and not knowing what goes on next door if they clean up after the dogs or leave it. I am going to start looking for shrubs and plants that smell good.Any info besides this video I just watched and will watch more.Please reply with any ideas if you would.

Hi Jim, the leaves on my osmanthus are charred at the tip, then the leaves drop stripping the tree bare. What is going on and what should I do? I am in 10a, they are in half sun with regular water. Clay soil. Please help. Thank you so much.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge. I live in zone 5/6 and tempted fate planting two of these this past Spring. One is in a pot well wrapped in burlap and covered with burlap to keep the snow off. I do lift the burlap to allow sun to show through when the weather is nice (above 45 degrees F) and sunny. The other one is in the ground with a tepee structure covered in burlap. Do you think I need cover them in the winter time when they are well established and larger plants or will they be able to survive? We can get down to -5F if it is a bad winter. Thanks in advance for your help!

Hi, I live in southern california and tried to grow these several times but all failed. I grow it in container with purchased palnting soil (so PH shouldn't be an issues?). I water it only when the soil is about to dry (not too much water causing root rot). I put it in corner so it gets morning and afternoon sun. Problem is the leave will begin to show brown at the tip then spread to entire leave then fall off. I tried severl they all display the same issues. What do you think the problem is? Thanks in advance.

I have about 5 of these planted in a long bed in my side patio, but the drip system we had installed eventually crapped out and we neglected the trees and they’re pretty badly dried out (but by no means dead). I’ve wanted to have these in my backyard as well and have been thinking about transferring the 5 trees from the patio bed into the ground in the backyard. Do you think it’s ok to do this? They’re about 6 feet tall at this point but like I said the leaves are starting to burn quite a bit. Would the trees go into shock if I tried to uproot and transfer them?

Can I plant this now in the soil on the corner of our yard ? Or does it need to be planted earlier in the year to take,root for winter flowering?

How to prune a tea olive?

Hi Jim. I am considering planting these just in front of my house under the windows. There is about 2.5 feet of space between the house and patio. Do I need to worry about the roots close to my foundation or sewer opening (which also happens to be there)

Hi there! You mentioned other faster growing screening options - what would some of them be? I reside in MD (don't remember the zone) and would like to create screening between mine & my neighbors yards but I don't want to have to wait years for privacy and don't want an entire fence, just a buffer/screen...thanks!

Thank you for the information. I’m looking for a good candidate to pleach in zone 9. How do you think these would do? Thx.

I was able to proergate the sweet olive plant from 2 years ago. Since I live in MD and the winter has been very cold. I had brought it in door and was hopping to plant it outside once it got bigger. I had a plastic bag over the plant last winter since it was rooting. It grew well outdoor in the summer. Now all the leaves had fallen off. I am afraid it die! The is the 3rd time it happened. Please advise!

Another great vid Jim - thanks. What plant would you recommend for noise dampening near a busy road with some 18-wheelers. Or landscaping ideas for that (berm?)?

Hi Jim...searching from something next to a concrete stamped patio...how close can I get with these? It is part (afternoon) sun...any other suggestions? Just want a touch of privacy...nice and smelly would be a bonus !

My tea olive is getting brown edges on leaves and deformed leaf growth even on new growth Not very thick for the screening purposes. Planted last summer. ??

Will this grow as a potted plant? live in Greenville, SC and wonder if it will survive the winters as a potted plant?? Thanks!

Will deer eat the sweet olive tree?

Can this Tea olive grow as a Tree, contained to a specific area, like a crape myrtle ? I love the fragrance but I do not have room for an aggressive plant that will take over my small yard ?

I have had a tea olive tree in the same spot for 20 years, and now it is covered in powdery mildew. Is it able to be saved or should I just cut off the last few healthy twigs to try rooting them? It has poor drainage, lack of sun and also a foot away from a large crepe myrtle

Is there any way to keep a fragrant tea olive alive in the landscape on the south side near a wall in zone 6b? Please help. I have 2 beauties. Clay soil.

Can you pls recommend a good soil ph meter under $30? Thanks