Fruitland’s Fortune Tea Olive (Fragrant Osmanthus) – 7 Gallon Pot (4-5′)

Height at Maturity:  15-20′, with no pruning

Width at Maturity:  10-15′, with no pruning

Spacing:  6-8′ for solid hedges; 18’+ for space between plants

---

Maintenance / Care:  Average to Low

Introduced from Japan in 1856, Fruitland’s Fortune Tea Olive, which is a cross between Osmanthus heterophyllus and Osmanthus fragrans, has stood the test of time for good reasons. It sports abundant clusters of unusually fragrant, clear-white flowers in fall. As with other tea olives, the individual flowers might be small but they sure do pack a punch when it comes to fragrance, filling the air in a front or back yard with sweet, heavenly perfume. Fruitland’s evergreen leaves are longer, more lustrous deeper green and the spines are much less pronounced than its O. heterophyllus parent. Thriving in full sun or shade, it can be grown as a large shrub that might reach 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide over time. Or, as it grows taller, lower branches can be removed to form a highly attractive small evergreen tree. It’s also ideal for use as an impenetrable, tall privacy hedge that can be maintained at a height as low as 6 feet. It is drought tolerant when established and we’ve seen no problems with insects, disease, or deer, who turn their nose up to it.

‘Fruitlandii’ is a cultivar selected by Fruitland Nurseries, which long ago occupied what is currently Augusta National Golf Club.