Transplanting tea olive

Hi Anne,

First of all your blog/website is wonderful!! I am going to share it with my garden club and family members!!

My question – I need to move a beautiful tea olive that was planted close to my pond and home. It is now over 7 feet tall and is competing for space with another very large plant (don’t know its name, but the ‘other’ plant shades the fish, so I can’t move it.)

The tea olive has begun to flower. After flowering do I cut it back and move to another location? Thanks or your help!!!

Lucy H.

Anne's Response:

I would cut the plant back after it blooms but wait until fall to move it. In late August you can use a sharp spade to root prune the tea olive. Just stab the spade down into the ground in a circle at the outside edges of the plant. After 6 weeks you should be able to move the plant without upsetting it too much. The root ball you have to move will be smaller and not weigh quite so much. New roots will generate quickly in its now location if you make a good planting bed and water the plant in well.