Plant in full sun along the coast to part sun or light shade and water regularly to occasionally. Hardy to temperatures down to 15 to 20F and useful in USDA Zones 8b and above. It does not do well with reflected heat or hot drying winds, but is pretty resistant to predation by deer. The glossy leaves make it a clean and nice looking shrub, but the sweetly fragrant small white flowers that perfume the air makes it a wonderful addition for any garden where it can be a specimen plant, used as a hedge por screen or trained as a small tree and makes a good container specimen.

Sweet Olive is native to Asia from the Himalayas east through southern China (Guizhou, Sichuan, Yunnan), Taiwan, southern Japan and south into Cambodia and Thailand. The name for the genus comes from the Greek words 'osme' meaning "fragrant" and "anthos" meaning "flower" and the specific epithet means fragrant. It is also commonly known as Fragrant Osmanthus, Sweet Osmanthus, Tea Olive and Fragrant Olive. We have grown this wonderful plant since the when the nursery opened in 1979. 

The information about Osmanthus fragrans that is displayed on this web page is based on research conducted in our nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We will also include observations made about this plant as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens that we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We also incorporate comments that we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they share cultural information that aids others growing this plant.