Olive trees are native to the Mediterranean basin—Northern Africa, Western Asia, and Southeastern Europe—and have been beautifying gardens since antiquity. In addition to being beautiful and producing delicious briny fruits, these historic trees are also drought-tolerant, easily adaptable to different soil conditions, and can even thrive in containers.

The best part? You don’t need to travel abroad to enjoy these trees. You can grow one right at home. Depending on where you live, olive trees can survive in USDA growing zones 8 to 11, or year-round indoors in containers. Ahead, we break down everything you need to know about growing an olive tree, according to garden experts.

When to Plant an Olive Tree

The best time to plant an olive tree is in the spring, when the danger of frost has passed. “Young trees are quite sensitive to cold, so you don’t want them facing freezing weather their first winter,” says Harrison Meekins, M.S., grower specialist with Sun Gro Horticulture. March or April are considered the better times during spring to plant, when the weather is cool but stable. Just like winter, summer is also unfavorable for new olive tree plantings because extreme heat can negatively affect the tree. However, if you live in a mild climate, where winter lows stay above 30 degrees Fahrenheit, you can also plant in fall, but spring is always the safest, he adds.

How to Plant an Olive Tree

The easiest way to grow an olive tree is by purchasing an established one from a local nursery. Once you bring the tree home, follow these expert-approved steps for properly planting it in the ground.

1. Choose the right spot: Meekins recommends planting your olive tree in an area that receives at least eight hours of full sun daily. Avoid planting in any low areas where water collects.
2. Dig a hole: Dig a hole the same width as the rootball but slightly shallower, so the top of the rootball sits just above the soil line, says Meekins.
3. Plant the tree: Gently remove the tree from its pot. Untangle any circling roots but disturb the root ball as little as possible, he says. Place the tree in the hole, backfill with soil, and water thoroughly.
4. Control weeds: Keep weeds out of the area surrounding your olive tree. Aim for a 3-foot weed-free zone around the trunk, says Meekins. This will allow the tree to grow unencumbered by other plants. Apply mulch a few inches away from the bark.
5. Stake if necessary: If the tree flops, prune back top growth or loosely tie it to a stake until the tree matures and the trunk grows stronger.

How to Care for an Olive Tree

Follow these steps to ensure your olive tree thrives.

Water

Olive trees have minimal water requirements and are drought-tolerant once established. “For young trees, I recommend watering deeply once or twice a week in spring and summer,” says Meekins. “Mature trees can go up to four weeks between watering.” Regardless of age, let the soil dry out slightly before watering again.

Sunlight

Olive trees are heat-resistant and thrive in full sun. For optimal results, aim to give your olive tree eight hours of direct sunlight every day.

Soil

Olive trees prefer fertile, well-draining soil. However, Brian Flood, a garden expert and CEO of Moon Valley Nurseries, notes that these trees can tolerate poor, stony, and shallow soils, allowing them to be planted in a variety of landscapes.

Fertilizer

Olive trees aren’t heavy feeders. “But a balanced fertilizer with about 10 percent nitrogen in spring and mid-summer can help younger trees get established,” says Meekins. Fully mature olive trees typically do not require frequent fertilization. Be careful to avoid over-applying nitrogen, as it can encourage excessive foliage and delay fruit set, he warns.

Temperature

As Mediterranean plants, olive trees like hot, dry summers once established, and they enjoy cool but not severe winters. They prefer a temperature range of 50 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit, but will survive as long as temperatures don’t dip below freezing. That said, there are cold-resistant varieties that can handle chillier weather. 

How to Prune an Olive Tree

Prune with restraint, experts warn. “Olives fruit on the previous year’s wood, so if you cut too hard, you’ll sacrifice your harvest,” says Meekins. Instead, thin the canopy lightly to let sunlight and air in and remove dead or diseased wood. For young trees, he recommends minimal shaping in the first four years, pruning just enough to establish a strong form. “The first few times you prune are the most important, because this will have the biggest impact on the tree’s shape and encourage additional branching.”

However, it’s also best to err on the side of caution by hiring an expert. “We recommend having a professional prune or trim your olive trees,” says Flood. This is because it’s best to tip-prune long olive tree branches at 30 to 36 inches during the first season to encourage additional branching, something an expert will know how to do.

Growing an Olive Tree in Containers

If you live in a colder climate, where olive trees can’t stay outside year-round, consider planting your tree in a container. Meekins recommends dwarf varieties, such as ‘Little Ollie,’ that stay compact, around 6 to 8 feet tall. “Container trees may not fruit as heavily, but they still make striking, Mediterranean-style specimens,” he says. To plant in containers, use a large pot with excellent drainage and a gritty potting mix such as cactus soil, and place the tree in the sunniest spot you have. This way, you can move the container indoors before winter freezes. “Keep in mind that container trees have limited root space compared to trees grown in soil, so more frequent watering may be required,” Meekins adds. 

Repotting an Olive Tree

Repot container-grown olive trees every two to three years to refresh the soil and give the roots more space. You will know when the tree is ready to be repotted because the roots will start to poke through the drainage hole, and the tree will require more frequent watering. Repot it in a container that is one or two sizes bigger than the current pot.

Common Pests and Diseases

The olive fruit fly is the most serious pest that you might face with olive trees. “Females lay eggs under the skin of the fruit, and the larvae can ruin an entire crop,” Meekins says. You can monitor this pest invasion with traps or seek help from pest professionals who know how to treat it.

Scale insects are another insect you may encounter, but Meekins says they are easily treated with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap. “Just be sure not to apply any oils or soaps during times of extreme heat or before it rains, otherwise you will risk burning the tree or washing away the products you applied.”

Olive trees are also susceptible to black scale insects that weaken the tree. “Good sanitation, selective pruning, and, in some cases, horticultural oils or biological controls are effective ways to keep these problems in check.”

In terms of disease, verticillium wilt, a soil fungus that causes dieback, can sometimes be a problem with olive trees. Meekins says you can avoid this problem by not planting your tree in infected soil.

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I’ve been experimenting with avocado plant propagation. Here’s what I’ve learned in the last year from growing avocado pits into actually plants that will eventually fruit.

Avocados are one of the few green things my six year old will happily eat. And I would eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if they didn’t start to go bad before I could get to them all. 

So, over a year ago, we tried to propagate our own avocado tree from a pit. It worked so well, we’ve now started four different avocado trees, in hopes that at least two will make it long enough to start actually fruiting. 

But even if that never happens, the process is exciting and the waiting game is a great lesson in patience for kids (and adults to be honest). Here’s what you do…

     

Avocado Plant Propagation

I’m no stranger to propagating plants, but avocado plant propagation is a little different than most. Since you’re starting with a pit and not a piece of an existing plant.

Not to worry though – the process is very easy. And quite satisfying! Here’s how to create an avocado tree from an avocado pit…

1) Remove the pit from an avocado, wash it off. You can remove the thin skin on the pit or leave it as is. It doesn’t seem to matter much either way.

2) Poke three or four toothpicks into the upper center of the pit (evenly spaced). And rest the toothpicks on the rim of a bowl (or cup) filled with water*. Make sure the seed is bottom side down and that the bottom of the pit is completely submerged in water.

*Near a window with natural sunlight is best, if possible.

  

3) Refresh the water every few days and check water daily to ensure it’s still completely submerging the bottom of the avocado pit. Other than that it’s just a waiting game.

It takes 1-2 months to see progress. It will seem like nothing is going to happen the first few weeks. But eventually, the pit will start to split. Once you see that, you know the roots aren’t too far behind…and then the stem!

4) Once the avocado stem is around 6 inches tall, you can prune it back to promote bushier growth, if desired. Pot the pit / new plant in soil once the roots are established. I waited until mine were 1.5 – 2 inches long. *Bonus points for using DIY planters.

Water like any other plant.

So what’s the best way to propagate avocados?

The success story

Here’s one (above) that I started from a pit about a year ago. It has turned out the best so far imo – healthy and continuously getting new growth. I used what I did with this pit (to plant) as my outline for the instructions in this post.

So, the instructions in this post are what has brought me the best results so far.

First photo is from April of this year and the one below that is from June of this year. So, it’s seen a lot of new growth within the last two months.

The experiment

Above is an avocado plant when it was 5- 6(ish) months old. As an experiment, I left it in its tiny container (with fresh water near a window) for much longer than the others to see how long it would continue to grow without potting it.

You can see where I cut it back months ago, to encourage stronger growth (and hopefully another branch at some point).

After this photo, I planted it in a pot and brought it out to the porch, where the others have done well. Sadly, it hasn’t grown since, and is starting to wilt. So I’m thinking we won’t do it that way again. It’s still alive, but not flourishing like the others.

The in-between

And lastly, above is an avocado tree that my mom gave me. She planted it two years ago, as just an avocado pit (using this same method), and now it’s nearly 5 feet tall! It lost almost all of its leaves over the winter, but a lot of new growth is coming in again, now that it’s spring / almost summer.

The leaves aren’t as big or bushy as ‘the success story’, but it’s still in good shape and continues to get new leaves. *The first photo is from April of this year and the second photo is from June of this year. So, decent progress with the leaf growth, but it’s a lot leggier than the others.

The idea of having an avocado tree in our backyard that we could go and pick from whenever we had a craving sounds amazing. So I’m really hoping we start to see some fruit in the next few years.

That’s it for now! Have you ever tried propagating plants before?