Purple Leaf Tea Olive (Osmanthus Heterophyllus ‘Purpurea’) – 3 Gallon Pot

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Flowering Period:  Fall

Flower Type:  Single 

Fragrant Flowers:  Yes, very fragrant

Foliage Color:  Dark Green with Deep Purple new growth!

Fragrant Foliage:  No

Berries:  No

Berry Color:  NA

Attracts:  Birds, Visual Attention

Resistances:  Deer – more info, Drought (when established), Heat, Humidity, Insect

Extremely tough, versatile and handsome, and with lots of sensory appeal for the eyes and the nose, the Purple Leaf Tea Olive, Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Purpureus’ wows in spring with remarkable new growth that emerges a striking deep purple. The holly-like leaves mature to a deep green with subsequent flushes of the purple new growth throughout the growing season as well. In mid to late fall, abundant clusters of intoxicatingly fragrant white flowers can fill a small to medium size backyard with heavenly sweet perfume. At 8 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide depending on pruning, the Purple Leaf Tea Olive makes for an excellent specimen or evergreen hedge or privacy screen or corner plant to frame homes and other buildings. As it grows taller, lower branches can be removed to form a highly attractive small tree. Very easy to grow with excellent cold hardiness (-5 to -10F) for a tea olive and drought tolerant when established.

Growing 8 to 15 feet tall and 6 to 10 feet wide, Purple Leaf Tea Olive can be grown as a large shrub or small tree. As a shrub it is ideal for use as a specimen in smaller garden spaces or in groupings or as a natural or clipped formal hedge in larger spaces. It is excellent to frame the corners of homes and other buildings. As the plant grows taller lower branches can be removed to form a highly attractive small tree perfect for use as a focal point specimen in landscape borders and home foundation plantings. Especially nice near patios and other outdoor living spaces where the fragrance of the flowers and the texture and color can be enjoyed from up close. A fine addition to fragrance gardens, purple theme gardens, bird gardens and Asian gardens.

Suggested Spacing:  6 feet apart for hedges;  14 feet for space between plants.

The Purple Leaf Tea Olive is easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and full sun to part shade. We suggest at least 4 hours of direct sunlight per day. As with so many ornamental evergreen shrubs, tea olives do not like wet feet. Constantly soggy or wet soils can be problematic. Maintenance is minimal; requiring little if any pruning. That said, the plant responds well to pruning to control size, for shaping purposes, or to tree form. Flowers occur on wood from the previous year so prune in late fall or winter right after flowering. We’ve seen no problems with pests and disease and it is very drought tolerant when established.