How tantalizing, seductive and elusive Sweet Olive is - elusive because the fragrance of its flowers can be experienced several hundred feet from the plant. No wonder it's a favorite in old southern gardens.
Even through Sweet Olive (Osmanthus fragrans) is a marginal plant in the colder parts of Zone 8, it can be managed in North Texas if you take advantage of one of the many "micro climates" we all have in our gardens. This shrub or small tree will thrive if planted on the southeast side of a house, perhaps near a brick wall that will return some of the day's heat on a cool night. Though the location may not be an important or visible one in your garden, the impact of the luscious scent wafting in the breeze can be enjoyed from quite a distance.
Sweet Olive likes fertile, well drained, slightly acidic soil and a little relief from midsummer afternoon sun. It will not tolerate soggy, heavy clay soil. Once established, this long-lived evergreen is fairly drought tolerant and has very few pests.
In the case of this plant, a little winter cover with an old sheet is well worth the trouble. A Sweet Olive that has been given some tender loving care will likely reward its owner with delectable fragrance almost continuously from late autumn through spring. Sudden temperature or moisture changes tend to stimulate its flower development.
Temperatures in the mid-teens may cause considerable damage to unprotected shrubs but the plants will usually recover easily from small twig injury. With a bit of reshaping, it will have a fresh start.
Jackie Hope, Smith County Master Gardener
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