When Do Sweet Olive Shrubs Bloom?

Types

• Native to China and Japan, sweet olive shrubs were imported for use in gardens across the warmer regions of the United States and in cool greenhouses. They made excellent tall hedges and screens in gardens with the added benefit of perfuming the garden air. Most sweet olive shrubs bear white blossoms with four petals -- this form of the species does tend to rebloom year-round. Another form, named aurantiacus, bears yellowy orange flowers and tends to bloom only once a year.

Flowering Season

• Expect sweet olive shrub to bloom profusely beginning in very late August to mid-September in USDA Zones 7 and 8. Farther south, the primary flowering season starts a bit later, in September or early October. Both the white and yellow-orange flowering types bloom most heavily this time of year. This main blossoming display tends to subside by mid- to late fall, but remnant flower clusters sporadically continue through the winter in Zones 8b through 10. A second large burst of flowers occurs in all zones in spring, from April to early June. Only white-flowering forms flower in multiple flushes across the year.

Pruning Insight

• Sweet olive shrubs bloom on both new and year-old season branch wood. Therefore, the concern about when to prune to avoid cutting off dormant flower buds practically is eliminated. However, the ideal time to prune sweet olive shrub is immediately after the flowering season ends. That mean either in early to midfall or late spring. In Zone 7, where winters are chillier, a late spring pruning time frame is perhaps better than pruning in October.

Threat of Winter Cold

• Flowering displays and sporadic clusters of branch flowers occur most often on plants unharmed by winter cold issues. Once the temperature drops to 5 degrees Fahrenheit, the evergreen leaves sustain damage and browning injuries occur. Temperatures at zero to minus 5 degrees can fully kill leaves as well as above-ground branches. If the roots survive, the sweet olive shrub must regrow in spring, delaying flowering only until late summer. Another dieback event the following winter prevents reblooming potential in spring.