Orange-flowered Fragrant Tea Olive
Osmanthus fragrans aurantiacus
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The orange sweet olive is the tea olive at full volume. Where the common form carries tiny white flowers, Osmanthus fragrans f. aurantiacus bears clusters of deep yellow to burnt orange, and the color comes with an even richer scent, a heady sweetness of ripe apricot and peach that fills a garden on a still autumn afternoon. The blooms open in one great, concentrated flush, brief at perhaps a week or two, but so heavy that the whole plant seems to smoke with fragrance while it lasts.
An evergreen from the woodlands of China, the orange sweet olive builds into a tall, dense shrub of twenty to twenty-five feet, glossy-leaved and almost tree-like with age. Michael Dirr, in his Manual of Woody Landscape Plants, wrote of the species that the flowers appear over such a great time frame and are so fragrant that to not try the plant is to cheat one's garden, and this orange form adds a further gift: unusual cold hardiness, taking temperatures well below zero with little damage, so gardeners a touch north of the usual tea olive country can grow the plant with confidence.
In China the golden-flowered forms are the most treasured of all for the table. The orange flowers are gui hua at its most fragrant, steeped with green and black tea into the classic osmanthus tea, simmered into syrups and jams, and folded into mooncakes and rice wine, and the same dried blossom has a long place in traditional Chinese medicine for warming, phlegm-clearing, and digestive uses. To grow the orange sweet olive is to keep a living pantry of scent.
Site the orange sweet olive where the autumn perfume will be caught in passing and the warm color can be admired up close: beside a door, along a path, near a patio, or under an open window. The tall evergreen frame also serves as a screen, an informal hedge, or a fragrant specimen, and pairs beautifully with the fall tones of maples and the deep greens of camellias and hollies. Give full sun to part shade and moist, well-drained soil, with afternoon shade in the fiercest heat.
- Hardiness
- USDA Zones 7–9
- Sun
- Full Sun, Part Shade
- Soil
- Well-drained, Moist
- Mature size
- Height 20–25 Feet · Spread 6–10 Feet
- Growth rate
- Moderate
- Seasonality
- Evergreen
Tiny, waxy, deep yellow to burnt-orange, intensely fragrant flowers in one heavy fall flush
References & research
These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This information is shared for traditional and educational interest only and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Please consult a qualified healthcare professional before any medicinal use.
- Not a substitute for professional medical care
- Consult a qualified practitioner if pregnant, nursing, or taking medication
From rooting to shipping, our top priority is ensuring you receive healthy, thriving plants for your garden’s success.
Because most of our plants are grown from rooted cuttings — alongside seed, air layering, and grafting chosen for each variety — you receive a stronger, true-to-type plant that establishes quickly in your garden.
Raised on organic soil blends and eco-friendly pest management — never harsh chemicals — your plant arrives healthy for your garden, your family, and the pollinators they feed.
Every purchase gives back. We donate to the Aiken Arboretum and support local wildlife conservation, so growing your garden helps protect the wider ecosystem too.
All our plant material is carefully propagated, grown, and nurtured at our humble nursery in Aiken, South Carolina.
Your plant arrives carefully packed and ready to settle in. Unpack them promptly, give them a day or two to acclimate, then plant following the notes we include — that’s all it takes. Clear care guidance comes with every order, so success is the easy part.
What to expect upon delivery
All our plants are sold in 1-gallon sizes, though the height of each plant can vary depending on its growth rate and seasonality, typically ranging from 1/2 to 2.5 feet.
Each plant is carefully packaged with its roots enclosed in a secure plastic bag containing moist soil, forming a compact root ball. To ensure safe transport, the box is padded with recycled newspaper, providing both stability and eco-friendly protection from weather during shipping.
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