In Japan it grows in scrub dominated by Quercus phillyraeoides and Pittosporum tobira.

Its densely packed, spreading form has proved useful along roadsides and highway medians.

In Alabama it grows in urban areas and in protected, natural habitats as a weed.

The South Carolina Southern Weed Science Society places it as an invasive species in their local area.

[5] Despite its invasive potential, E. pungens is widely cultivated as a garden plant in temperate regions.

It can grow in varied soil types, including those found at mine spoils.

[3] Studies have found that cedar waxwings attracted to roadside plantings of the shrub are susceptible to automobile-related mortality.

In Brazos County, Texas between 8 March and 5 April 1981, researchers counted 298 cedar waxwings that had been killed while trying to get fruits from thorny-olive shrubs growing along one highway.