New Jersey Tea features glossy leaves, numerous bright white flowers and a mounding shape that make this compact shrub a popular garden member. Planted two to three feet apart it forms an attractive low growing hedge, …
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) features glossy leaves, numerous clusters of bright white flowers and a mounding shape that make this compact shrub a popular garden member. Planted two to three feet apart it forms an attractive low growing hedge, and is an excellent choice for rocky hillsides and slopes, as well. New Jersey Tea requires a well-drained site. The deep tap root makes it very drought tolerant once established. With a slow to moderate growth rate the long-lived plants will mature in 2 to 3 years.
A host plant for Spring Azure and Summer Azure butterflies, New Jersey Tea is also attractive to hummingbirds, which eat the tiny insects that busily pollinate the small flowers. The name New Jersey Tea was coined during the American Revolution because its leaves were used as a substitute for imported tea.
Planting and Cultivation Notes
New Jersey Tea is a deciduous shrub and it looses it's leaves in the winter. It has a woody stem system which persists over the winter and supports the next years growth. As a shrub, New Jersey Tea blooms on new wood. It can be cut back to the ground in early spring (rejuvenation pruning) to encourage new growth, or it can be left to grow naturally.
Native plants can be grown outside of their native range in the appropriate growing conditions. This map shows the native range, as well as the introduced range, of this species.
Plant Shipping Rates: for plant orders up to $50 the shipping amount is $9.95. For plant orders from $50.01 and over, the shipping rate is 20% of the total plant cost.
Fall plant-shipping begins on September 9, 2024. The last day to order your plants for fall shipment is September 29.
During checkout, you will be asked to choose a Shipping Week for your plant delivery, from the dates that are available. The week that you choose will be included in your order confirmation email. When your plants ship you will receive an email that includes your tracking information.
Will New Jersey Tea grow under Black Walnut trees?
The New Jersey Tea plant (Ceanothus americanus) does not tolerate juglone toxicity, a condition found in the environment beneath Black Walnut trees. The trees produce a chemical called hydrojuglone, which is found in the leaves, stems, fruit hulls, inner bark and roots. When exposed to the air or soil, hydrojuglone is oxidized into the chemical juglone. Juglone is toxic to many plants, but there are also plants that are resistant to the toxins. Our list of plants that can tolerate Juglone toxicity can be found here …
How fast does New Jersery Tea grow?
New Jersey Tea has a slow to moderate growth rate. The plants will mature in 2 to 3 years, and they are very long-lived. A deep tap root makes this small shrub very drought tolerant once established. 6 hours of sun a day, and a well drained site are optimal.
How old/big are these New Jersey Tea plants when you ship them in spring?
The New Jersey Tea plants are in 3" pots (2.6" wide X 3.5" deep). The plant size can vary within this pot size, but the plants are only typically only 1 year old.
Do rabbits browse on New Jersey Tea plants.
Rabbits are known to browse New Jersey Tea Plants in the winter and early spring, when other food sources are scarce. You may decide to surround the plant(s) with protective fencing or keep them covered them during the dormant season to protect them.
Is it recommended to grow in pairs for pollination?
New Jersey does not require two plants for successful pollination. The plant/flowers are monoecious and both male and female flowers are produced on the same plant. The plant is self-fertile, meaning that the pollen from one flower can fertilize the ovule of another flower on the same plant. The seeds from a single plant will be viable -- only one plant is needed for successful pollination. However, cross-pollination between different plants leads to increased genetic diversity in the population.
Sign-in or create an account to submit a question.
