New Jersey tea
Ceanothus americanus · Rhamnaceae
A compact native shrub with fluffy clusters of white flowers in early summer that draw an extraordinary range of small pollinators and hummingbirds.
- Size
- 3 ft tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around New Jersey tea
The planner designed this bed around New Jersey tea when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 715 that suit those conditions and its dry soil, and says below why New Jersey tea stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 New Jersey tea × 1, white
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' × 21, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 8, blue
- 4 Stiff goldenrod × 3, yellow
- 5 European columbine × 3, purple
- 6 White sage 'Valerie Finnis' × 5, silver leaves
- 7 Schubert's allium × 2, pink
- 8 Hyacinth × 8, blue
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
- The only plumes. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, flat plates and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only white. White sits between stronger colours and calms them.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 3 ft it is one of the taller plants here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to white sage 'Valerie Finnis' (24 in): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for five weeks. From mid June to mid July.
- Fills a gap. For two of those weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 7 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Cheddar pinks 'Tiny Rubies' is the plant there is most of: 21 of the 51. Cool colours (pink, blue and purple) with yellow as the warm note, and white to calm things between them.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 6 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where New Jersey tea goes in a border
At 3 ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium tall (2½ to 3 ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
It has deep roots that fix nitrogen, so it thrives in poor, dry ground and cannot be moved once planted. Rabbits and deer browse it when young.
- Dry, sunny banks
- Native pollinator gardens
- Poor, sandy or rocky soil
What to plant with New Jersey tea
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Butterfly weed: in flower together for three weeks, from late June; happy in the same dry soil.
- Little bluestem: its blue-green leaves are a setting for the flowers, before and after; happy in the same dry soil.
- Purple coneflower: in flower together for three weeks, from late June.
Questions about New Jersey tea
Does New Jersey tea need sun or shade?
New Jersey tea grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants dry, sharply drained soil, on the lean side, with no feeding, and little watering once settled. Once settled in, it stands drought.
What zones does New Jersey tea grow in?
USDA zones 4 to 8. It is hardy to zone 4, which means it survives winter nights down to about −20 °F (−29 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does New Jersey tea flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid June to mid July. As a summer flower it moves about half a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer.
| Zone 4 | Late June to mid July |
|---|---|
| Zone 5 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 6 | Mid June to mid July |
| Zone 7 | Early June to early July |
| Zone 8 | Early June to early July |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should New Jersey tea be planted?
3 ft (90 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 3 ft (90 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many New Jersey tea plants do I need?
At 3 ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 4 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is New Jersey tea poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Do deer eat New Jersey tea?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after New Jersey tea?
New Jersey tea is over by mid July. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- Bee balm: from early July to early August, 3 ft tall.
- Lilyturf: from early August to mid September, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does New Jersey tea look like in winter?
New Jersey tea drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
Is New Jersey tea good for bees and butterflies?
New Jersey tea is visited by pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths and songbirds.
It is a host plant: the caterpillars of spring azure, summer azure and mottled duskywing feed on its leaves. A butterfly can only lay its eggs on its host plants, so these do more for it than any nectar flower.
It is native to the United States and Canada.
In these guides
- Plants that grow near black walnut
- Pet-safe plants for a sunny border
- Garden plants native to Canada
- Plants for butterflies
- Plants for bees
- Plants that feed garden birds
- Shrubs under 4 feet for small gardens
- Plants for a white garden
- Host plants for the spring azure
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 3 ft (90 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3 ft (90 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium tall (2½ to 3 ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid June to mid July; feathery plumes; white
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; dark green
- Shape
- Rounded, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 4 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Lean, dry and sharply drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Rhamnaceae
- Comes from
- Canada to Central U.S.A., NC
- Attracts
- Pollinators, specialist bees, butterflies, moths, songbirds
- Host plant for
- Spring azure, Summer azure, Mottled duskywing
- Stands up to
- Drought, poor soil, black walnut
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.