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I might plant Tea Olive trees every second fence post, so I would like them to spread as much as possible. Someone at a nursery told me if I keep trimming the top of the tree as it grows taller and taller, it will focus more energy on spreading wider where it isn't being cut. Can anyone verify that?
Also, what do you think about these trees? I don't have a very good sense of smell, but I haven't found anything negative about the smell online. Everyone seems to love them, and people purposely plant them near patios. They were recommended to me along with "Wax Ligustrum" and "Cherry Laurel" for my full sun location in zone 7b.
I have all of them. Tea olive grows slowly, the other two grow fairly quick. The only downside to Cherry Laurel and Ligustrum is that they will reseed and you'll find seedlings everywhere. Carolina Cherry Laurel is native, the other two are Asian.
If you want something to spread out you should consider Wax Myrtle. They're native to the Deep South, but I think they'll do fine in 7b.
tea olive (osmanthus species) can have fragrant (apricot like) blooms. there are several different species (o. fragrans, o. armatus, o x. fortunei, o. heterophyllua,) all can become denser with some pruning of the plant (that's how most all hedges stay as hedges, LOL). you might take a close look at fortunei which is of generally slow dense growth. think the consensus on wax ligustrum (AKA privet ) some folks love the smell while others think the odor is "sickly sweet" . cherry laurel (prunus caroliniana) can be a nice evergreen large shrub or small tree (the cultivar "bright and tight" is more compact and "compacta" is even smaller and denser---6-8') ---both it and the ligustrum/privet can produce lots of berries which the birds can spread all over to create lots of extra seedlings (as mentioned above). again as previously mentioned above, you might also consider wax myrtle (myica cerifera) which is an easily controlled evergreen with pleasantly aromatic folige (when crushed). michelia fusca (banan shrub) is a normally dense and compact large shrub with fragrant flowers as is it's hybrid m x. foggii "all spice". hope this is of some help.
Last edited by georgeinbandonoregon; 09-27-2014 at 07:28 PM..
Reason: include more info.
I have all of them. Tea olive grows slowly, the other two grow fairly quick. The only downside to Cherry Laurel and Ligustrum is that they will reseed and you'll find seedlings everywhere. Carolina Cherry Laurel is native, the other two are Asian.
If you want something to spread out you should consider Wax Myrtle. They're native to the Deep South, but I think they'll do fine in 7b.
Thanks for the recommendation. Wax Myrtles are at my local nursery, so I'll look into them. One thing I like about the plants I mentioned in the original post is that they can survive in full sun in the Memphis heat with ease. I'm assuming Wax Myrtle is the same.
If you have any pictures of your setup online please share.
Thanks for the recommendation. Wax Myrtles are at my local nursery, so I'll look into them. One thing I like about the plants I mentioned in the original post is that they can survive in full sun in the Memphis heat with ease. I'm assuming Wax Myrtle is the same.
If you have any pictures of your setup online please share.
I have a wax myrtle which is trained into a tree next to the driveway in zone 8, full sun, and it is a nice small tree. We have ligustrum bushes next to our back fence and they provide good privacy, nice flowers and some berries for the birds. They are planted about 4' apart and have filled in completely, although we have thinned out the understory a lot so that the azaleas underneath would have more light. Anyway the ligustrum are about 12' high, so they give us 6 feet more privacy than the fence does. I would get them again.
Geneyus, I tried to take some decent pics but it's cloudy today and they didn't turn out so great.
Anyways, Wax Myrtle is native here, so these are some that I dug from the woods about 5 years ago. As you can see, one of them has totally engulfed the utility pole. I have never pruned these.
This one is a Cherry Laurel, it came up naturally from seed next to this old pecan tree. Probably a good 25' tall.
Honestly, considering how much damage some Ligustrum species (Chinese privet) have done to the environment in the Southeast, I'm hesitant to plant any of them. I know Japanese privet generally isn't as invasive, but still, when I hear Ligustrum I cringe.
Geneyus,
You want Sweet olive, which smells fantastic, which you want the largest shrubs
you can afford. About 4-5 ft tall you might pay about 15-20 a piece, they are bloomin
now, you will love the fragrance.
You also want Wax myrtle, which will grow fast for you.
Very attractive native tree, and takes a hard pruning easily.
If you have the room, arborvitaes are nice, and you could mix them up
by planting them alternatively, They all play well with others. LOL
The arborvitaes will grow slow, the tea olive will grow slow, so try to get
the largest size you can buy.
Forget the privet, it grows fast, but its something everyone has.
I had Privet in Memphis, it's all over the Berclair n'hood. Hated it. Strong smelling, some love it, some hate it, pollen everywhere. Grows fast but pops up all over the yard, took over the chain link fence at the back of the yard and impossible to get rid of.
Honestly, considering how much damage some Ligustrum species (Chinese privet) have done to the environment in the Southeast, I'm hesitant to plant any of them. I know Japanese privet generally isn't as invasive, but still, when I hear Ligustrum I cringe.
I planted quite a few as a privacy hedge prior to knowing they were invasive and they definitely grew rapidly. Ten years later they are quite large. They are always filled with bees when their flowers are around.
I also have a tea olive, it actually shocked me by growing significantly its first year but was slow after that. I find the aroma of their tiny flowers to be pleasant and sweet.
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