How to Plant Tea Olives

The tea olive is a shrub reaching up to 20 feet tall and 8 feet wide but rarely seen in landscapes over 10 feet tall. This shrub blooms in autumn, winter and early spring with clusters of small white flowers that provide a heavy scent that is sweeter than a gardenia. The tea olive is a slow-growing shrub that can be pruned to encourage branching or left to grow as it will. The leaves resemble that of holly trees, except holly leaves are alternate and the tea olive leaves are opposite.

Shovel
Garden snips
Garden hose or water supply

Instructions

- 1
  Select a spot for the tea olive that will give it about eight hours of sunlight each day. A sunny to partly shady spot near an entrance or window is ideal for the tea olive. The fragrance is best appreciated when the tea olive grows near an open door or window.
- 2
  
  Wear garden gloves while digging to help prevent blisters.
  
  Dig a hole twice the width of the pot, or the root ball if not potted. The depth of the hole should allow the top of the root ball to be level with the top of the hole when planted. The soil that is removed from the hole should be amended with soil improver, such as cow manure, peat moss or compost.
- 3
  Transplant the tea olive to the hole, opening out the bottom roots if the shrub is badly root bound. Have someone hold the shrub upright as you fill the hole halfway with water, then backfill with the amended soil. Firm the soil around the shrub, but do not hard pack the soil.
- 4
  Water the shrub thoroughly when first planted, then every other day if there is no sufficient rainfall, for the next two weeks. Thereafter, water thoroughly once a week until the shrub is well-established.

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