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| Category: Shrub |
| Family: Oleaceae (Olives) |
| Origin: Himalaya Mountain Region (Asia) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Flower Color: White |
| Bloomtime: Spring/Summer |
| Fragrant Flowers: Yes |
| Height: 8-10 feet |
| Width: 8-12 feet |
| Exposure: Cool Sun/Light Shade |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Medium Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Osmanthus fragrans (Sweet Olive) - A dense evergreen fairly slow growing shrub that typically grows to 10 feet tall and 12 feet wide but can be trained into a taller small tree, with glossy green oval 2 1/2 to 4 inch long leaves with slightly serrated margins and are bronze as they first emerge. It have very fragrant 1/4 inch wide dioecious cream-white flowers and is in bloom sporadically throughout the year, with peak flowering in spring and summer. Plant in full sun along the coast to part sun or light shade and water regularly to occasionally. Hardy to temperatures down to 15 to 20F and useful in USDA Zones 8b and above. It does not do well with reflected heat or hot drying winds, but is pretty resistant to predation by deer. The glossy leaves make it a clean and nice looking shrub, but the sweetly fragrant small white flowers that perfume the air makes it a wonderful addition for any garden where it can be a specimen plant, used as a hedge por screen or trained as a small tree and makes a good container specimen. Sweet Olive is native to Asia from the Himalayas east through southern China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan), Taiwan, southern Japan and south into Cambodia and Thailand. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'osme' meaning "fragrant" and "anthos" meaning "flower" and the specific epithet means fragrant. It is also commonly known as Fragrant Osmanthus, Sweet Osmanthus, Tea Olive and Fragrant Olive. We have grown this wonderful plant since the when the nursery opened in 1979.
This information about Osmanthus fragrans displayed is based on research conducted in our horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also will relate observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments that we receive from others and we welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share any cultural information that would aid others in growing it.
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