New Jersey Tea

Light Needs

Partial Shade to Full Sun

(At Least 3 Hours of Direct Sunlight)

Mature Height

3-4 Feet

Mature Spread

3-4 Feet

Growing Zones

4 to 8

A true American native plant, New Jersey Tea is a tough shrub that needs little maintenance and is easy to grow in just about any garden. New Jersey Tea attracts beneficial pollinators when in bloom and has lovely yellow stems after leaf fall in the winter. This shrub would be a nice addition to a naturalized area of your yard or a more structured Cottage Garden.

The thick leaves of New Jersey Tea are a nice medium green color that have fuzzy, gray undersides, making this an interesting addition to a garden plan that highlights foliage and form. Butterflies and Hummingbirds swarm the delicate, frothy blooms in May. New Jersey Tea can also be planted in groups for erosion control on a slope.

New Jersey Tea Care

New Jersey Tea is a shrub that really likes to be in full sun, where it will bloom heavily and have a lovely scent. Average to poor soil is acceptable as is a wide range of soil pH. Supplemental watering may not be required after this shrub is well established. New Jersey Tea is great to include in drought tolerant garden plans. 

This variety of Ceanothus americanus naturally grows compact and does not require much pruning. Cutting back any dead, diseased, dying or diagonal branches early in the spring will help clean up any winter damage and prepare the shrub for vigorous new growth. Fertilizing of native plants is rarely required. A mulching of leaves or organic compost in the fall will provide the needed nutrients and help to make the soil more moisture retentive over time.

New Jersey Tea Spacing

New Jersey Tea makes for a great low growing informal hedge. The mature height and width is 3-4 feet. Planting at 40 inches on center is recommended. New Jersey Tea has very deep root systems and is very long lived. Make sure that it is planted in the correct space from the beginning.