ShrubsFragrant Tea Olive
Osmanthus fragrans
Fragrant Tea Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) is a medium-growing shrub, hardy in USDA zones 9-11, that matures to about 10-15 ft × 10-15 ft. It does best in full sun and part shade with medium water needs in well-drained, moist and occasionally-dry soil. Expect white blooms in spring. It stands up well to deer, drought and salt, grows happily in containers.
- USDA zones
- 9-11
- Sun
- Full sun, Part shade
- Water
- Medium
- Mature size
- 10-15 ft × 10-15 ft
- Spacing
- 6-feet-12 feet
- Growth rate
- Medium
- Maintenance
- Medium
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist, Occasionally-dry
- Foliage
- Green
- Bloom color
- White
- Bloom season
- Spring
- Tough against
- Deer, Drought, Salt
- Native to
- Himalayas, Japan, China
In the landscape
Data sources
Freeze survival
Will it survive your winters?
Hardiness zones show a normal bad winter. We check the worst one — Fragrant Tea Olive is hardy to about 20°F (estimated from USDA zone 9), 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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