Description
New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus), also called Redroot, Red Root Tea, Wild Lilac, or Mountain Snowbell, is a compact native shrub known for its fragrant white flower clusters and deep green foliage. Blooming from late spring into summer, the plant becomes covered in airy masses of tiny white flowers that attract bees, butterflies, and other pollinators.
Typically growing 2 to 3 feet tall, New Jersey Tea forms a rounded, mounded shape that fits well in both formal landscapes and naturalized prairie plantings. Its dark green leaves stay attractive through the growing season, even after flowering ends.
This hardy shrub thrives in full sun to partial shade and prefers well-drained soils. It handles dry, sandy, rocky, and even limestone-based soils very well once established. Deep red roots make it highly drought tolerant, but also difficult to transplant, so it is best planted where it can remain long-term. As a nitrogen-fixing species, it also helps improve soil health over time.
New Jersey Tea supports a wide range of wildlife. It is a host plant for Spring Azure, Summer Azure, and Mottled Duskywing butterflies, while its flowers attract native bees, including the rare Yellow-banded Bumble Bee. Birds like wild turkey and quail also feed on the seeds. Deer and rabbits may browse young plants, so protection can help during establishment.
The common name comes from the Revolutionary War era, when colonists used the dried leaves as a caffeine-free tea substitute after imported tea became difficult to obtain.
New Jersey Tea pairs well with other dry prairie and savanna natives like Lead Plant (Amorpha canescens).
