Cut my 6 ft tall tea olive bushes back to big sticks. I think I over did it. I had 16 that took a hard hit two years ago and never leafed out much after. Did I make a big mistake cutting them back to nothing? We did this with loropetalum and they survived and thrived. Lost all my privacy and I’m regretting not having my twig bushes.
Tea olive
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By tea olive, can I assume that you mean Osmanthus - a sweet smelling shrub with white flowers usually blooming in late spring?
If so, has it already flowered this year yet?
The usual way to prune this shrub, assuming I have the identification correct, is to cut it back just after flowering. If you have cut it before this, you may lose the flowers this year, but never mind, the plant will recover well and be all the better next year.
Oops - forgot to say hello and welcome to the forums
If so, has it already flowered this year yet?
The usual way to prune this shrub, assuming I have the identification correct, is to cut it back just after flowering. If you have cut it before this, you may lose the flowers this year, but never mind, the plant will recover well and be all the better next year.
Oops - forgot to say hello and welcome to the forums
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I love tea olive..and bless @Tetters she may not be in a part of the world where they bloom as many times as they do here in Alabama.
My council is that they are slow growers and while not the best candidates for hard pruning as a result, you will find the ones with well established roots show signs of life. It may well be two years before you are impressed with them but care for the roots now as you would any in the spring with your fertilizing and other known forms of support.
My council is that they are slow growers and while not the best candidates for hard pruning as a result, you will find the ones with well established roots show signs of life. It may well be two years before you are impressed with them but care for the roots now as you would any in the spring with your fertilizing and other known forms of support.
So, come on Dirt, are we talking about Osmanthus here? Secondly, just how different is your climate to ours?
By the way I feel suitably blessed - thanks
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I always forget the balmy weather there. It just does not match the tv shows!So, come on Dirt, are we talking about Osmanthus here? Secondly, just how different is your climate to ours?
By the way I feel suitably blessed - thanks
I planted tea olive on each corner of the house so I might enjoy them blooming no matter which way the wind blows!
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You could never know how shocked I was to see a palm tree? in a ziggy vid. There are millions of us over here that have no clue and that is worrisome!
My tea olives are thriving. Thank you all for the advice to take care of soil because now they are 2 feet or more. My tea olives survived hard pruning.
Speaking of Tea Olives yes, Osmanthus, I planted one just a bit too close to my Alphonse Karr bamboo, (that bamboo gets very Wide !!) and it was getting over shadowed so, instead of digging it up, I bent it. 
I took the top ( it's 5' tall but spindley from being in shade) and bent it horizontally towards the sun and away from the bamboo, tied soft cloth around the leader, tied around the soft cloth with jute twine and anchored it with a brick. It looks reallllly funky but it's tip is already headed upward and out from the bamboo's shade, so we'll see how it goes. I think it's going to look pretty cool .
I took the top ( it's 5' tall but spindley from being in shade) and bent it horizontally towards the sun and away from the bamboo, tied soft cloth around the leader, tied around the soft cloth with jute twine and anchored it with a brick. It looks reallllly funky but it's tip is already headed upward and out from the bamboo's shade, so we'll see how it goes. I think it's going to look pretty cool .