New Jersey Tea

New Jersey Tea Care

Ceanothus Americanus

What is the plant

Ceanothus americanus is a species of Ceanothus shrub native to North America. Common names include New Jersey tea, Jersey tea ceanothus, variations of red root (red-root; redroot), mountain sweet (mountain-sweet; mountainsweet), and wild snowball.

The red roots and root bark of New Jersey tea are used by Native Americans in North America for infections of the upper respiratory tract. The leaves have a fresh scent of wintergreen and were later utilized by the European colonizers as a tea substitute and stimulating caffeine-free beverage.

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Humidity

Normal

Lighting

Full Sun

Hardiness zone

4 - 8

Difficulty

Medium

Hibernation

Cold Period

Invasive

Weed

How to Care for the Plant

Water
In fact, New Jersey tea shrub care is minimal. That's because New Jersey tea shrubs are low maintenance plants that tolerate drought and thrive in dry soil, shallow soil and rocky soil
Pruning
Luckily, New Jersey Tea blooms on new wood and should be Rejuvenative Method of Pruning by cutting back to the ground in early spring. However, it can be left to grow naturally. New Jersey Tea is extremely drought tolerant, but only when the roots are established.
Fertilizer
Fertilize in the fall with Yum Yum Mix and good quality compost. This is most important during the first 3 years in the landscape. Established plants don't need to be fertilized (unless growth is stunted by extremely poor soils).

Disease diagnosis

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Sunlight
Light preference is full or part sun and medium-dry soil. Deer and rabbits do like this shrub, especially when it is young so protect new transplants in the early years. The beautiful white flowers attract many pollinators. New Jersey Tea is one of the host plants of the Spring Azure.
Soil
Sandy, well-drained
Additional
Ceanothus americanus, commonly called New Jersey tea, occurs from Canada to Florida. During the American Revolutionary War, its leaves were used as a tea substitute. The plant grows about 1 m (3 feet) tall and has deciduous, rather oval leaves. The white flowers grow in a flat-topped cluster.