Olive (Olea europaea) – Young Tree, 80–100cm (3L Pot)

Olea europaea, the olive, is an evergreen Mediterranean tree with silver-green leaves that brings instant character to a sunny patio, balcony or courtyard.

This is a young tree of 80 to 100cm, well rooted in a 3 litre nursery pot and ready for a larger container or a sheltered sunny border. In open ground and given long enough an olive reaches 3 to 10 metres and develops a characterful gnarled trunk, but in a container or with regular light pruning it stays far smaller. A south or south west facing wall is the ideal spot.

The leaves are narrow, dark green above and silver beneath. In late spring and early summer it carries clusters of small creamy white flowers, lightly scented and visited by bees, and in a warm sheltered spot small olives can follow, ripening from green through yellow to purple by autumn, though fruiting is unreliable in a British summer and it is best enjoyed as an ornamental. Give it full sun, shelter and sharp drainage: it is drought tolerant once established, copes with salt air, and will not stand cold wet soil in winter. In southern and coastal gardens it can stay out all year; elsewhere it is safer in a pot that can be moved under cover in a hard spell. Water moderately, feed through spring and summer, and prune lightly in late spring to keep the shape.

Supplied in a 3 litre nursery pot. You can also choose to have it in one of our planters instead of the nursery pot; the planter is a decorative pot only and does not change the plant.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Olive
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 3 to 10m x 3 to 10m in the ground; far smaller in a container or pruned
• Growth Habit: Upright to broadly spreading evergreen tree
• Perfect For: Patio containers, courtyards, sunny sheltered borders, Mediterranean and gravel style gardens, coastal planting
• Foliage: Evergreen, narrow, silver-green
• Flowering Time: Late spring to early summer, small creamy white flowers
• Planting Position: Full sun, sheltered; suits a container; tolerates coastal conditions and drought once established
• Soil Type: Free draining, with added grit; avoid waterlogging
• Hardiness: Not reliably hardy everywhere; protect from hard frost and cold wet winters
• Maintenance: Low
• Seasonal Interest: Evergreen all year; flowers late spring and summer, fruit into autumn and winter
• Type: Evergreen Mediterranean tree