So you just received your mail-ordered Tea Olive plants or have noticed that the ones growing in your landscape have tiny holes that have developed on the older leaves over the winter months. Is there a cause for concern? Read below.
Tea Olive, Osmanthus fragrans, especially those growing in containers in cooler regions, will often develop tiny holes and or brown or black spots on the older leaves during the winter months. You'll be happy to know that this is not a harmful disease or caused by insects. Rather it is a temporary condition that causes no permanent or long term harm or damage to the plant. When spring arrives new leaves will emerge and eventually the older leaves will naturally shed from the plant as they normally do, as all plants do.