Fragrant Variegated Tea Olive
Osmanthus heterophyllus ‘Variegatus’
Plant Details
USDA Plant Hardiness Zones: 7a-9b Find Your Zone
Plant Type: Evergreen Shrub
Height at Maturity: 6-8′
Width at Maturity: 4′-5′
Spacing: 3-4′ for solid hedges; 6′ + for space between plants
Flower Color: White
Flower Size: Small
Flowering Period: Late Summer to Early Fall
Flower Type: Single in small clusters
Fragrant Flowers: Yes
Foliage Color: Creamy White, White, Bronze-Red, Medium Green, Dark Green
Fragrant Foliage: No
Berries: No
Berry Color: NA
Sun Needs: Mostly Sun to Part Shade. Best if kept out of the hottest part of the day mid-afternoon sun
Water Needs: Low when established
Soil Type: Clay (amended), Loam, Sand (amended), Silt
Soil Moisture / Drainage: Well Drained
Soil pH: 5.5 – 7.5 (Moderately Acid to Slightly Alkaline)
Maintenance / Care: Low
Attracts: Visual Attention
Resistances: Deer – more info, Drought (when established), Heat, Humidity, Insect, Disease
Description
Fragrant Variegated Tea Olive, also commonly called Variegated Osmanthus or Variegated False Holly, is an eye-catching evergreen shrub with striking variegated white and green foliage and fragrant blooms on an upright, rounded pyramidal form. Plants can be pruned for a rounded shape. The foliage radiates year round with creamy white leaves painted with dark mint-green. The fragrant white flowers appear in spring. This beauty is truly in a class of its own – a must for the gardener that enjoys unique and unusual plants.
Landscape & Garden Uses
With it’s outstanding color and pyramidal form to 6 to 8 feet tall and 4 to 5 feet tall, the Variegated False Holly (Osmanthus) is ideal for use as an accent, in groupings, or as a hedge in landscape borders and home foundation plantings. Also makes a fine container garden plant. A fine addition to fragrance gardens and Asian gardens.
Suggested Spacing: 3-4′ for hedges; 10 feet for space between plants.
Note: For our customers who live and garden North of USDA Cold Hardiness Zone 7a, where this Osmanthus variety is not reliably winter hardy, you’ll be happy to know it can be grown in containers that can be brought indoors during winter and placed back outside when temperatures warm up in spring.
Growing Preferences
Variegated False Holly is easy to grow in most any moist but well-drained soil of average fertility and full sun to part shade. That said, in our north central Georgia gardens it performs better when provided some shade or filtered sun during the hottest part of the day. Maintenance is minimal; requiring little if any maintenance to keep its dense, pyramidal form. It’s also disease, fungus, and pest resistant. Plants will be fuller with some shade. Part sun to mostly sun is preferred. It performs its absolute best with a break from the direct sun during the hottest part of summer afternoons. Constantly soggy or wet soils can be problematic. Just make sure to plant it in a well-drained site.
Helpful Articles
Click on a link below to find advice from our experts on how to plant and care for Osmanthus and Tea Olive shrubs.
How To Plant A Tea Olive
How To Fertilize A Tea Olive
How To Prune Prune A Tea Olive Shrub Or Tree
Plant Long & Prosper!
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This thing showed up faster than expected and in great shape. Their packaging was simple and effective, especially on such a heavy container and all the state compliance agreements came with it. Ill definitely order from them again.————————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy it for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
Just about a perfect shrub in my very shady woodland garden. I bought two last fall, two more this summer, and all are doing well. The foliage really lights up very dark spots where few other shrubs will thrive, they don’t demand a lot of water, they are evergreen, and best of all the deer (at least so far) seem to truly dislike them, with not even a nibble when nearby plants were heavily browsed. The summer order even survived a shipping disaster, when one plant slipped completely out of the pot in the box. I planted it immediately and it didn’t seem to notice its ill treatment – probably because it was so healthy to begin with.———————————-We are so glad you are pleased and we hope you enjoy them for years to come! Thanks for the great review! 🙂 Beth Steele | WBG
As with most of my previous experiences with Wilson Bros. the plants arrived fast and in great shape. I was super impressed with their size. I previously worked for a large retail nursery and had tried to stock variegated Osmanthus heterophyllus, only to have these arrive larger than the 5 gallon ones a major wholesaler had sent down from Oregon. I now do consultations and specialty gardens privately, and my customers were extremely pleased with their matching variegated Osmanthus, arriving just in time to complete the Christmas decor they were planning. Thanks, Wilson Bros!—————-WBG Reply: Hi Thomas, Thanks so much for taking the time to provide your review of the Variegated False Holly-Osmanthus heterophyllus. We are so glad you were pleased and we hope your clients enjoy them for years to come!
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens
Beth Steele | Wilson Bros Gardens





















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