What soil does Olive grow in?

It tolerates these soils: average garden soil, sandy, clay, calcareous.

Hardy down to -10 °C (USDA zone 8, RHS H4). Outdoors in this country it only survives with winter protection, or in a pot overwintered frost-free.

Is Olive toxic to children?

No. Reliable sources list it as non-toxic to children.

How far from the house should Olive be planted?

Plant it at least 1 m from buildings. Keep it at least 0.5 m from paving.

How much water does Olive need?

Water need: medium. Drought tolerance: high.

How much does Olive cost?

It sells for roughly €33 to €280 in local shops, depending on size.

What should I plant instead of Olive?

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. For a similar purpose we recommend: Blue Arrow juniper, Adam's needle, Common juniper, Holly osmanthus.

Olive

Olea europaea

Olive (Olea europaea) is a shrub. Light: full sun. Hardy down to -10 °C. Drought tolerance: high. Non-toxic to children. Sold in local shops from about €33. We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens.

Illustration of Olive — An illustration of the typical shape of the mature plant, not a photo.

What it's good for, and what it isn't

A container plant in Central Europe: hard winters kill it in the ground, but in a pot it lives for decades and brings a Mediterranean feel to a terrace with its silvery foliage and a trunk that grows gnarled with age. Give it the sunniest, sheltered spot and loose, free-draining compost, and water only once the surface has dried out, because it will not stand waterlogging. Move it in as late as you can in autumn (an older tree takes short, light frosts, but in a pot do not leave it out below about minus 5 °C), overwinter it bright and cool at 5 to 10 °C and on the dry side, and put it back outside in April. It needs that cool winter in order to flower, though fruit rarely ripens in a pot.

We do not recommend this plant

We do not recommend it for most Central European gardens. Further down we show what to plant instead.

Watch out for

In Central Europe lasting hard frost damages both the root ball and the branches, so it is only safe in a container with frost-free overwintering. Kept in a warm, heated room it does not get the chill it needs to flower, sheds leaves and weakens; overwatering leads to root rot. Scale insects are the most common pest, and mealybugs can turn up in the winter room. Diseases include peacock spot, which blotches the leaves and makes them drop, bacterial olive knot, which forms galls on the shoots (it spreads on pruning tools, so cut it out in dry weather and disinfect the blades), and verticillium wilt. The pollen is strongly allergenic.

Key facts

Light: Full sun
Water need: Medium
Care: Medium
Size after 10 years: 1.8 m × 1.2 m
Hardiness: down to -10 °C
Foliage: Evergreen
Flowering: J F M A M J J A S O N D May–July, white

Group	Shrub
Light	Full sun
Size after 10 years	1.8 m × 1.2 m
Ultimate size	1.5–2.5 m × 1–1.5 m
Hardiness	down to -10 °C (USDA 8, RHS H4)
Soil	Average garden soil, Sandy, Clay, Calcareous
Foliage	Evergreen
Flowering	May–July, white
Harvest	October–November
Water need	Medium
Drought tolerance	High
Maintenance	Medium
Root aggressiveness	Low
Suckering	no
Spreading	Low
Distance from buildings	at least 1 m
Distance from paving	at least 0.5 m
Litter	not typical
Planting distance	150 cm
For dogs	Non-toxic (uncertain)
For cats	Non-toxic (uncertain)
For children	Non-toxic
Typical price	from about €33

Toxicity data is for information only. If your pet or child has eaten a plant, contact a vet or a doctor.

What to plant instead

Recommended plants that do the same job, with similar characteristics.

Blue Arrow juniper

Juniperus scopulorum 'Blue Arrow' 3.5 m × 60 cm after 10 years

A very narrow, steel-blue column that takes up little ground yet draws a vertical line you can see from across the garden. It wants full sun and…

Shrub

Full sun

from about €58

Adam's needle

Yucca filamentosa 1.8 m × 1.2 m after 10 years

It forms a stemless evergreen rosette of sword-shaped leaves edged with white threads, and in early summer sends up a head-high stalk carrying…

Shrub

Full sun

from about €8.10

Common juniper

Juniperus communis 2.5 m × 80 cm after 10 years

A native, slow-growing evergreen with prickly needles and blue-black berry-like cones, planted in gardens mostly as its slender columnar cultivars for…

Shrub

Full sun

Part shade

from about €18