New Jersey Tea is grown for its foliage and the structure it brings to a planting. It's hardy across USDA zones 5 through 11 and shrugs off dry spells. Its late spring flowers are a real draw for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies. A nitrogen-fixer, it draws nitrogen from the air and feeds it back to the soil — turn it under or leave the roots in place, and the next planting inherits a richer bed.
Zones
5-11
pH Range
4.3-6.5
Sun
Shade
Days to Maturity
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Score New Jersey Tea on your exact land.
Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether new jersey tea actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score new jersey tea against your land's real conditions.
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What New Jersey Tea is
New Jersey Tea grows as a perennial and reaches around three feet at maturity. It blooms blue in late spring.
How to grow New Jersey Tea
New Jersey Tea grows in USDA zones 5 through 11. New Jersey Tea does best in shade — at least 2 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 4.3 to 6.5. It needs a growing season of at least 120 frost-free days and about 600 hours of winter chill, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
5-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
4.3 - 6.5
USDA PLANTS Database
Sun
Shade
plant_species_v5.csv
Drainage
Data pending
plant_species_v5.csv
Frost Tolerance
-28°F
plant_species_v5.csv
Mature Height
3 ft
plant_species_v5.csv
Chill Hours
600+
plant_species_v5.csv
Frost-Free Days
120+
plant_species_v5.csv
Start the season right
Plant new jersey tea in shade with at least 2 hours of direct sun, once the soil has warmed and frost risk has passed.
Match the soil
New Jersey Tea prefers pH 4.3 to 6.5 (USDA PLANTS Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band. It fixes its own nitrogen, so skip the high-nitrogen feed and instead dust the seed with a matching rhizobium inoculant at sowing.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. Match watering to the plant's drainage preference and your local rainfall.
Keep it in good form
Prune new jersey tea to shape as it grows; the reward is its foliage and structure, not a harvest, so steady upkeep is the whole job.
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — new jersey tea isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
New Jersey Tea is a standout pollinator plant — high value to bees and other pollinators. (Source: Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership.)
Where New Jersey Tea thrives
New Jersey Tea is hardy across USDA zones 5 through 11. Zone is only the starting point, though: the soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific land decide how well it actually does.
Zones 5–11·Where New Jersey Tea growsOpen map →
On USDA hardiness-zone overlap, New Jersey Tea can grow in these states:
See if New Jersey Tea will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether new jersey tea actually takes — we score it against the real conditions at your address.
Three things about your exact spot that zone averages miss:
We read public map data for this spot — soil, climate, flood, and parcel records. How we handle your address.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I grow New Jersey Tea in my zone?
New Jersey Tea grows in USDA hardiness zones 5 through 11 (USDA PHZM 2023). Zone is one factor — soil pH, drainage, and frost dates on your specific parcel also shape whether it takes.
When should you plant New Jersey Tea?
Most growers plant new jersey tea after the last spring frost, once the soil has warmed, leaving enough of the season for its 120-day frost-free need. Your local frost dates set the exact window — a Growable Ground report reads them for your address.
How much sun does New Jersey Tea need?
New Jersey Tea is shade-tolerant — it gets by on as little as 2 hours of direct sun, so it earns a place most vegetables can't use. A north-facing strip or the ground under a leafy canopy is right where it belongs. A Growable Ground report shows which corners of your land stay shaded through the day, turning those dim spots into planting spots.
What soil does New Jersey Tea need?
New Jersey Tea prefers soil pH 4.3 to 6.5 (USDA PLANTS Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does New Jersey Tea attract pollinators?
Yes — new jersey tea's flowers are a strong nectar and pollen source for honeybees, native bees, and butterflies (Xerces Society, Pollinator Partnership).
Is New Jersey Tea safe for pets?
New Jersey Tea is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data (ASPCA). Always supervise pets around new plantings.