How to Grow Olive Trees: From Planting to Harvest

Olive trees (Olea europaea) are among the easiest fruit trees to keep alive and among the slowest to reward you. They love sun, heat and dry summers, tolerate poor soil and drought once established, and can live for centuries. What they do not tolerate is waterlogged roots and long, hard frosts. If you can give an olive full sun, a free-draining spot and a winter that is cool but not brutal, it will grow; if you also give it a few weeks of winter chill, it will flower and fruit.

This guide covers the whole cycle, from choosing a variety to curing your first olives. Each section links to a detailed guide.

Where Olive Trees Grow: Climate and Hardiness

Olives are Mediterranean trees. They do best where summers are long, warm and dry and winters are mild and wet: the Mediterranean basin, California, parts of Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina and the Middle East.

• Hardiness: established trees usually survive short drops to about −7 to −10 °C (15–19 °F). Young trees and potted trees are damaged at around −5 °C (23 °F). In USDA terms, olives are reliable in zones 8–11 and possible in a sheltered zone 7b.
• Winter chill: to flower, an olive needs a period of cool weather, typically several weeks with nights below about 10 °C (50 °F). Trees kept warm indoors all winter rarely fruit.
• Heat: olives handle summer heat well above 35 °C (95 °F) if the roots have water.

In cool, wet climates such as the UK, northern Europe or the Pacific Northwest, olives are grown as ornamental patio trees, usually in pots that can be moved to shelter in a hard winter.

Choosing a Variety

Choose by purpose (oil, table olives or ornamental), climate and space. For gardens, Arbequina is the most popular choice: compact, early bearing, largely self-fertile and fairly cold tolerant. Koroneiki is small-fruited and very productive for oil, Picual is hardy and vigorous, Manzanillo and Kalamata are classic table olives, and Leccino and Frantoio are Italian oil varieties that pair well as pollinators.

Planting: In the Ground or in a Pot

• When: spring, after the last frost, so roots establish before the next winter. In frost-free climates, autumn planting also works. In the Southern Hemisphere, plant from September to November.
• Where: full sun (at least 6–8 hours), shelter from cold winds, and soil that drains quickly after rain.
• Spacing: garden trees 5–6 m (16–20 ft) from buildings; traditional groves 7–10 m (23–33 ft) apart; intensive groves 6 × 4 m; super-high-density hedgerows as close as 4 × 1.5 m.
• Pots: start with a container at least 40–50 cm (16–20 in) wide, use a gritty, free-draining mix and repot every 2–3 years.

Plant at the same depth as in the nursery pot, water well, stake young trees against wind and keep a 1 m (3 ft) circle around the trunk free of grass and weeds.

Soil

Olives accept sandy, stony, chalky and moderately clay soils with a pH of roughly 6–8.5. Drainage matters more than fertility: standing water in winter causes root rot and is the most common reason garden olives die. On heavy soil, plant on a raised mound.

Watering

Young trees need regular deep watering during their first two summers, typically once a week, more in heat. Established trees are drought tolerant and can survive on rainfall in a Mediterranean climate, but they crop far better with summer irrigation, especially during flowering, fruit set and oil accumulation in late summer. Potted olives dry out fast: water when the top 5 cm (2 in) of compost is dry.

Feeding

Olives need mainly nitrogen, with potassium and boron also important. Feed in late winter or early spring and again after flowering, never in autumn, which pushes soft growth into the frost. Well-rotted compost or manure around the drip line suits garden trees; potted trees need a balanced slow-release or liquid feed during the growing season.

Pruning

Olives fruit on wood grown the previous year, so heavy annual pruning costs you next season's crop. Prune in late winter or early spring once hard frosts are over, ideally in dry weather. Aim for an open, vase-shaped crown that lets light into the centre, remove suckers from the base and water shoots inside the crown, and take out no more than a quarter to a third of the canopy in one year.

Pests and Diseases

The key pests are the olive fruit fly, which lays eggs in ripening fruit, black scale with its sticky honeydew and sooty mould, and the olive moth. The main diseases are peacock spot (round dark leaf spots and leaf drop), olive knot (galls on branches), verticillium wilt and, in some regions, Xylella fastidiosa. Most problems in gardens come from overwatering, poor air flow and stress.

Why an Olive Tree Doesn't Fruit

The usual reasons: the tree is too young, it got no winter chill, flowers were hit by rain, wind or late frost, it was pruned too hard, or it is in an "off" year. Olives naturally bear heavily one year and lightly the next (alternate bearing).

Harvest

In the Northern Hemisphere green olives are picked from September to October and black olives from November to January; in the Southern Hemisphere roughly March to July. Olives straight from the tree are inedibly bitter and must be cured in water, brine or lye before eating. For oil, fruit is picked as it changes from green to purple and pressed within 24 hours.

How Long Until an Olive Tree Fruits and How Much It Yields

A tree grown from a cutting or graft usually starts bearing at 3–5 years and reaches full production at 8–12 years. Trees grown from seed can take 8–15 years and are not true to the parent. A mature garden tree typically gives 15–50 kg (35–110 lb) of fruit in a good year. As a rule of thumb, 5–8 kg (11–18 lb) of olives make 1 litre of oil.

Common Beginner Mistakes

• Planting in soil that stays wet in winter.
• Keeping a potted olive warm indoors all winter and then wondering why it never flowers.
• Feeding in autumn.
• Pruning hard every year.
• Expecting to eat olives straight from the tree.

All Olive Tree Guides

• Olive tree cold hardiness and winter care
• Best olive tree varieties
• Growing olive trees in pots
• Growing olive trees from seed and cuttings
• Olive tree fertilizer
• How often to water olive trees
• How to prune olive trees
• Olive tree pests
• Olive tree diseases
• Why an olive tree isn't fruiting
• When to harvest and cure olives
• How to make olive oil at home
• Olive tree yield and years to fruit
• Is olive farming profitable?

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take an olive tree to produce olives?

Trees from cuttings or grafts usually fruit after 3–5 years; trees from seed take 8–15 years or more.

How cold can an olive tree tolerate?

Established trees usually survive brief lows of −7 to −10 °C (15–19 °F). Young and potted trees are damaged around −5 °C (23 °F).

Do you need two olive trees to get fruit?

No. Many varieties, including Arbequina and Koroneiki, are largely self-fertile, although a second variety nearby usually increases fruit set.

Can you grow an olive tree indoors?

You can keep one alive indoors in a very bright window, but it will rarely fruit without a cool winter period. A bright, unheated room or porch in winter works better.

How fast do olive trees grow?

Slowly to moderately: young trees typically add 30–60 cm (1–2 ft) a year in good conditions, then slow down as they mature.