How to Landscape With Olive Trees

Olive tree with olives

Olive trees are evergreens with grayish green leaves that can make beautiful landscape plants if you live in a climate warm enough for them to thrive. Once the trees are established, they will prosper with little attention.

Instructions

Landscaping with Olive Trees

1. Pick the variety of olive tree that will work best in your area and for your needs. The Olive Oil Source (http://www.oliveoilsource.com/site.htm) has a great list of varieties, as well as some growing and preserving tips.

2. Decide whether you want to plant trees directly in the ground or keep them in containers. In the ground, trees can reach heights of 20 to 40 feet with spreading branches that provide a lot of shade. In containers, trees can be pruned to keep them smaller.

3. Choose a spot that gets plenty of sunlight and be sure to provide your olive tree with well-drained soil. Water in-ground trees once a week at the roots; those in containers need watering more often.

4. Prune trees minimally during the first four years of growth. Between the fourth and sixth years of the tree's life, shape it into the form you want it to maintain, either to produce good fruit or to provide good shade.

5. Prune the olive trees each year so that sunlight reaches all of the branches, if you want the olives to ripen. Suggested techniques for pruning vary, so read some resources, such as Brian Chatterton's article in the Mediterranean Garden Society's Journal linked below, to find out which method will work best for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Read Edible Landscaping by Rosalind Creasy for more great suggestions on using fruit-bearing plants to create beautiful landscapes.

• Olive trees can't survive in areas that have cold winters. If you live in a region that drops below 10 F in the winter, then you might want to try other fruit trees that are more frost resistant. Check the websites listed below to find out if olives will grow in your region.

References

• Olive Tree Growers
• The Olive Oil Source
• California Rare Fruit Growers Association

Resources

• Just Fruits and Exotics Florida Grower
• Mediterranean Garden Society on Olive Cultivation