Tea Olive is a tree, a long-term addition to the landscape. It's hardy across USDA zones 9 through 11, shrugs off deer and grows just as well in a container as in the ground. Its spring flowers are a moderate draw for honeybees and butterflies.
Tea Olive — the short answer
Tea Olive: grown in zones 9–11, part sun, pH 5.5–7.5.
- USDA zones
- 9–11
- Manual horticultural correction (source not retained); NC State Extension and Missouri Botanical Garden, with the remaining rows from other published sources or Growable Ground compilation
- Soil pH
- 5.5–7.5
- Growable Ground Plant Database
- Sun
- Part Sun
- Growable Ground Plant Database
Plant data: Growable Ground Plant Database, compiled from FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS and university Extension sources — each tile names its own row's source, because per-field provenance varies.
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Zone averages can't see the slope, soil, frost, and sun that decide whether tea olive actually takes — and those shift from one yard to the next. Enter your address and we'll score tea olive against your land's real conditions.
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What Tea Olive is
Tea Olive grows as a perennial and reaches around 15 feet at maturity. It blooms white in spring. It's also deer-resistant and well suited to containers.
How to grow Tea Olive
Tea Olive grows in USDA zones 9 through 11. Tea Olive does best in part sun — at least 4 hours of direct sun a day — and soil from pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground. It needs a growing season of at least 250 frost-free days, which is why climate matters as much as soil.
USDA Zones
9-11
USDA PHZM 2023
Soil pH
5.5 - 7.5
Growable Ground Plant Database
Sun
Part Sun
Growable Ground plant catalog
Drainage
well (dry spells)
Growable Ground plant catalog
Mature Height
15 ft
Growable Ground plant catalog
Frost-Free Days
250+
The frost-free stretch it needs start to finish — short-season areas may need an indoor head start.
Growable Ground plant catalog
Plant it right
Set tea olive in part sun with well-drained soil. Many fruit trees need a second variety nearby to pollinate — check before you plant just one.
Match the soil
Tea Olive prefers pH 5.5 to 7.5 (Growable Ground Plant Database). A quick soil test from your local Extension lab tells you whether to add lime or sulfur to land in band.
Water steadily
Keep the root zone evenly moist through establishment. A 2–3 inch mulch layer holds moisture without waterlogging.
Be patient, then harvest
Prune annually while the tree establishes; fruit trees reward patience with years of harvest. Local Extension guides publish per-cultivar bearing-age tables.
Where Tea Olive thrives
Tea Olive is hardy across USDA zones 9 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.
A USDA zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme winter minimum, so zones 9–11 spans average winter lows from 20°F to 50°F (USDA PHZM 2023). Across the 50 states and DC, that band covers none outright but splits 17 down the middle — and which side of that line your land sits on changes the answer.
Zones 9–11·Where Tea Olive growsOpen map →
Where Tea Olive stands, state by state
Tea Olive is rated for zones 9–11 — a cold floor USDA puts at 20 to 30°F. Across the 50 states and DC, 0 sit fully inside that band, the line runs through 17 more, and 34 sit outside it — and inside every split state, the same line runs on at county grain.
The line runs through
17 states
- Alaska · zones 1a-9a
- California · zones 4b-11a
- Nevada · zones 4a-10a
3 of 17 shown
Tea Olive’s band covers part of each of these states — which side of the line your county sits on changes the answer, and each state page draws it.
State zone extents: USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map (PHZM) 2023. A zone is a 10°F band of average annual extreme minimum temperature, so a state that splits the band contains the boundary — its own page draws the county line, and a parcel report resolves which side your land sits on.
What grows around Tea Olive
Growing guides for tea olive
In rotation planning, tea olive counts as a Other — beds recover best when other crops don’t follow each other in the same spot year over year. (Growable Ground derivation — crop-rotation group from botanical family)
Related plants in shrub
Good to know
Good news for pet owners — tea olive isn't known to be toxic to dogs or cats. (Source: ASPCA.)
Tea Olive offers moderate value to bees and other pollinators.
Your land is one point inside Tea Olive's range
This page resolves to the species. Your state page draws the county line, and a report reads the parcel — the soil pH, drainage, sun, and frost dates on your exact ground, which no species average can see.
See if Tea Olive will thrive on your land
Zone averages are a start. Your exact soil pH, drainage, sun exposure, and frost dates shape whether tea olive 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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How we know this about Tea Olive
The figures above are cited per row, not per site: the pH band names this plant’s own source column, the three temperature figures each carry their own, and days-to-maturity cites the publication that actually lists it. All of it comes from the Growable Ground Plant Database — a compilation over FAO ECOCROP, USDA PLANTS, and university Extension sources, published openly with per-field provenance.
Grounded inUSDA PLANTS Database•USDA PHZM•ASPCA
Frequently asked questions
Can I grow Tea Olive in my zone?
Tea Olive grows in USDA hardiness zones 9 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 Tea Olive?
Set tea olive out in early spring or fall while it's dormant, so the roots establish before the heat of summer. Your local last-frost date — which a Growable Ground report pulls for your exact address — sets the precise window.
How much sun does Tea Olive need?
Tea Olive does well in partial sun — around 4 hours of direct sun, and it takes some afternoon shade in stride. That flexibility makes it a good match for a bed the house or a nearby tree shades for part of the day. A Growable Ground report maps how the sun actually falls on your land, hour by hour, so you can set it where the light lines up.
What soil does Tea Olive need?
Tea Olive prefers soil pH 5.5 to 7.5, on well-drained ground (Growable Ground Plant Database). Your report scores your parcel's actual soil against that using USDA SSURGO data.
Does Tea Olive attract pollinators?
Yes — tea olive's flowers are a solid nectar source for honeybees and butterflies.
Is Tea Olive safe for pets?
Tea Olive is not known to be toxic to dogs or cats based on available data. Always supervise pets around new plantings. (Source: ASPCA.)