Gulftide Hardy Tea Olive (Osmanthus) – 7 Gallon Pot (5-6′)

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One of the most cold hardy of Tea Olives, and equally as heat hardy, ‘Gulftide’ is reported to handle temperatures down to -10F in USDA Zone 6 and heat to Zone 11. As with other Tea Olive, this one produces abundant clusters of intoxicatingly fragrant white flowers that fill the garden with an aroma somewhat similar to jasmine. That said, the fragrance is really indescribable, and comparable to no other fragrant flowers. All it takes is one plant to fill your front or backyard with a heavenly scent of sweet perfume. But it’s the high-gloss, deep green, English holly-like leaves that really sets this one apart from others in the Osmanthus family. A handsome evergreen shrub or small tree terrific as specimen, evergreen screen or hedge, or to frame corners on homes and other structures in sunny to mostly shaded areas. Over the decades growing this plant, we’ve seen no insect or disease problems and deer and other animals won’t touch it!

growing 8 to 15 feet tall and 5 to 7 feet wide depending on pruning, the Gulftide Tea Olive can be grown as a large shrub or small tree. As a shrub, its dense foliage makes it ideal for use as a specimen, evergreen hedge or privacy screen, background in landscape borders, or to frame corners or fill voids between widely-spaced windows in home foundation plantings. Also nice in large containers. As it grows taller, lower branches can be removed to a desired height to form a highly attractive focal point specimen tree for use in sunny or shady landscape borders and home foundation plantings. A fine addition to fragrance gardens, white theme gardens, shade gardens, Asian gardens and Xeriscape gardens (low water needs).

Suggested Spacing:  4 to 5 feet apart for a solid hedge;  10 feet or more apart for space between plants

The Gulftide Tea Olive is very easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and full sun to mostly shade. Very drought tolerant when established. As with many other plants, a constantly soggy or wet soil can be problematic. Over decades, we’ve seen no insect or disease problems and deer won’t touch it.