Olive (Olea europaea) – Mini Tree, Indoors or Out (1.5L 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 the mini tree form, 40 to 50cm tall in a 1.5 litre nursery pot, slow growing and easily kept compact in its container. It does equally well as an indoor olive on a sunny windowsill or in a bright room and as an outdoor olive on a sheltered patio, balcony or terrace, and it makes a lasting gift. Wipe the leaves now and then to keep it looking its best.

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 1.5 litre nursery pot. You can also choose to have it in the green ceramic pot or the metal pail; the planter is a decorative pot only and does not change the plant.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Olive
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: Up to 2 to 8m outdoors in the ground; easily kept compact in a container
• Growth Habit: Slow growing, bushy evergreen tree
• Perfect For: Sunny windowsills, bright rooms, patios, balconies, terraces, container gardens
• Foliage: Evergreen, narrow, silver-green
• Flowering Time: Late spring to early summer, small creamy white flowers
• Planting Position: Full sun outdoors, sheltered; a sunny windowsill or bright spot indoors; grown in 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, indoors or out