How Do You Plant & Care For Sweet Olive Trees?
Sweet olive is also known as Osmanthus fragrans, or fragrant tea olive. It is native to China. When blooming, the shrub has small, fragrant blossoms that can range from creamy-white to reddish. Its leaves are dark green and glossy. You can choose from more than 20 cultivars of this plant, such as Butter Yellow, Apricot Gold and Red. When properly cared for, this plant may grow as high as 30 feet, according to BackyardGardener.com. Plant your sweet olive tree in USDA zones seven through 10. According to Dave’s Garden website, this shrub prefers a soil pH of 5.6 to 7.5. The sweet olive may be planted in soil that ranges from sandy loam to clay loam. Select an area where it will receive partial to full sunlight. Remove any debris or weeds from the area where you will plant the sweet olive. According to the Backyard Gardener website, about a week before planting, work about 2 to 4 inches of compost or aged manure into the soil to prepare it. If you have poor soil, add a layer of topsoil. D
