ShrubsHolly Tea Olive (False Holly)
Osmanthus heterophyllus
Holly Tea Olive (False Holly) (Osmanthus heterophyllus) is a slow-growing shrub, hardy in USDA zones 7-9, that matures to about 8-10 ft × 7-9 ft. It does best in full sun and part shade with medium water needs in well-drained and moist soil. Expect white blooms in fall. It attracts bees, stands up well to deer, drought and heat, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 7-9
- Sun
- Full sun, Part shade
- Water
- Medium
- Mature size
- 8-10 ft × 7-9 ft
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Maintenance
- Medium
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist
- Bloom color
- White
- Bloom season
- Fall
- Attracts
- Bees
- Tough against
- Deer, Drought, Heat, Pollution
- Native to
- Japan and Taiwan
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Holly Tea Olive (False Holly) is hardy to about 0°F (estimated from USDA zone 7), so we'll score it against the real coldest nights your area has actually had.
Powered by ~35 years of daily lows from the nearest NOAA weather station. A risk read, not a guarantee — a sheltered spot or mature plant beats the odds.
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