Often when I purchase a cultivar of a plant in Japan or another country, I may not have any idea of the salient characteristic for which it is grown. This is one of those plants. It appeared to be just any Osmanthus heterophyllus with green leaves in the fall when It was purchased, but the price gave it away as something out of the ordinary. When it flushed with new growth in the spring, it was a "traffic-stopper." This cultivar of the Holly-leaf Tea Olive is grown principally for its new growth in the spring. The leaves emerge a hot pink, slowly lightening to a soft pink, and then turning a medium green. When one first sees it with its flush of new growth, one is speechless! It is truly that dramatic. It also has the characteristic white fragrant flowers in the fall as do all Osmanthus heterophyllus. Another added bonus for this species is its cold hardiness, all the way to zone 6. This species just might be the most cold hardy species of the Osmanthus genus. The last two images were taken at a Ball trial area in Pennsylvania.
Zones 6-9
