Aren't they wonderful?? I have one at the corner of my front porch, it is blooming profusely right now. It comes into bloom at least twice a year. Not the most attractive looking shrub in the world, but like you, I kind of neglect it, if I were to fertilize and prune it more often it might be a lovely plant to look at. I've been cutting branches and putting them in a vase in the front room to get the fragrance inside. Too bad Camellias don't have a fragrance, they are blooming right now, too at the other end of the porch.

I am with you guys, I enjoy my tea olives, very nice scent! I have them in a row at the entrance of the house...I smelled them when I went to the Bok Towers and then I decided to get them and changed some other bushes that came with the house.

{{gwi:2125649}}

Silvia

Nice photo! This reminds me that I need to get some Tea Olives. I am surprised that I don't already have them with all the fragrant shrubs I have lol ! I saw that wellspring gardens has them on their website. I got banana shrubs (michelia figo) from them years ago and they were about 3/4 the size of a pencil but now would be close to 8 ft if I hadn't cut them back to 5ft.
~SJN

The only reason I haven't gotten a Tea Olive yet is because I really don't know where I would put one. Every time I smell one in a garden center, I get that impulse to buy it, but I stop myself and picture my yard in my mind. There's just really no good places left unless I want to chew up even more of my planting beds. Hmm... perhaps if I totally get rid of my wildflower bed...

Aww don't get rid of your wildflower bed, Leekle. The wildflowers will attract and feed a bunch of different critters that are good for the earth.

In fact, that is the only reason that I'm not a great admirer of the Tea or Sweet Olive tree--it doesn't seem to attract any pollinators. It is so fragrant that one would assume that bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators would love it. But no. I have never seen a pollinator on one of them.

I still like these bushes, however, they are very fragrant and can be pretty in the right place in the garden. They are slow growing, something like Camellias--and like the Camellias they do well in shade, but not full shade.

No worries. I do not intend to dig it up. There is already a Wax Myrtle and a Beautyberry in that bed, but the points of that bed are:

1) I am trying to create an 'attractive' bed with wildflowers to show it can be done.

2) To provide for critters. While most of my beds have something to offer for insects and/or birds, this bed is supposed to be 100% for them.

If I were to put a Tea Olive somewhere, it would have to be in my shrub bed. While this looks sparse right now with the smaller plants in it, I keep picturing each shrub in that bed at its full, mature size and that's when I realize there just isn't enough room left there for another shrub/tree. I guess I could put a Tea Olive in my NW corner bed, but then it would be in a place where I wouldn't really get to enjoy the scent all that often except when mowing or working on the goldfish pond. I would much rather have one in a place where the wind would fill my lanai with its scent and that means either the shrub bed which is full, the tropical bed where it wouldn't 'fit' or the wildflower bed. None are really an option.

My mother, however, has me designing a layout for her and she has the perfect spot for one. So I will just have to enjoy the tea olive when I'm over at her place.