Bring historical flair and powerful pollinator support to your garden with New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus)—a compact, upright native shrubby plant prized for its clouds of fragrant white flowers, nitrogen-fixing roots, and value to native wildlife. Blooming from June through August, this low-growing perennial lights up the landscape with puffy clusters of tiny white blossoms that attract native bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds, while also serving as a host plant for Spring and Summer Azure butterflies.

Growing just 2–3 feet tall, New Jersey Tea is well-suited for garden borders, rocky slopes, or naturalized plantings, especially where you need a drought-tolerant, low-maintenance option. Once established, its deep red roots make it incredibly resilient in dry conditions. While fall foliage is unremarkable, its deep green summer leaves and dense, mounding form provide lasting structure and beauty.

Historically used as a caffeine-free tea substitute during the American Revolutionary War, New Jersey Tea is still appreciated today for both its cultural heritage and its vital role in supporting birds, pollinators, and soil health.

Why You’ll Love New Jersey Tea:

• Pollinator & Wildlife Support: Nectar for native bees, butterflies, hummingbirds; seeds for turkeys and quail
• Host Plant: Supports Spring Azure and Summer Azure butterflies
• Fragrant Blooms: Puffy white flowers light up the garden from early to mid-summer
• Drought-Tolerant: Deep roots make it hardy in dry, rocky, or poor soils
• Nitrogen Fixing: Naturally enriches your soil without fertilizer
• Compact & Adaptable: Great for small gardens, slopes, and dry sunny areas
• Pollinator-Safe: Grown non-GMO and free of harmful neonicotinoids, promoting a healthy ecosystem for pollinators and wildlife

Available in sets of three, six, or 12 plants to create a pollinator-friendly habitat in your garden.

Planting Tips:

1. Location: Full sun to part shade in medium-dry to dry, well-drained soil; tolerates sandy or rocky soils
2. Watering: Water regularly during the first season; very drought-tolerant once established
3. Spacing: Space 18–24 inches apart to allow room for mature spread
4. Maintenance: Minimal care required. If desired, prune in late fall or winter to remove dead or crossing branches and maintain shape. Mulch around the base to retain moisture and suppress weeds.

For more information on planting, view our How to Plant Your Native Plants guide and other planting tips in the Garden for Wildlife Learning Center. 

From its historic Revolutionary roots to its modern-day role as a pollinator powerhouse, New Jersey Tea is a charming and functional native shrub perfect for adding resilience, beauty, and biodiversity to your space.

Shipping Range:

• CT
• DC
• DE
• IA
• IL
• IN
• KS
• KY
• MA
• MD
• ME
• MI
• MN
• MO
• NC
• NE
• NH
• NJ
• NY
• OH
• OK
• PA
• RI
• TN
• VA
• VT
• WI
• WV

Zip Code Verification: Our plants are grown regionally to thrive where you live and help local wildlife. Confirm availability for your area using the zip code checker near the add to cart button above.

Returns: Due to the nature of our products, we are unable to offer order cancellations, returns or exchanges. In order to guarantee your satisfaction, all plants are covered by our Plant Guarantee.

*To ensure your plants arrive healthy, we may delay shipments to certain areas during times of extreme temperatures, natural disasters, or other conditions that will impact the plants during transit

Sizing: At the time of shipment, our plants have a developed root mass and emerging foliage around 4-8” high.

Recommended container sizes (in width) for container planting: