Olive (Olea europaea) – Standard Tree, 100–120cm (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 standard, a clean upright stem with a neatly rounded crown, about 100 to 120cm tall, professionally staked and supplied in a 3 litre nursery pot, so it is not a small starter plant. Container grown it reaches 2 to 3 metres and 80 to 150cm across, larger in the ground. It makes an instant focal point at an entrance, on a patio or in a sunny border.

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 as an established, staked tree in a 3 litre nursery pot, grown in peat free compost.

Cultural Information

• Common Name: Olive
• Fully Grown Height and Spread: 2 to 3m x 80 to 150cm in a container; larger in the ground
• Growth Habit: Standard stem with a rounded evergreen crown
• Perfect For: Patios, entrances, courtyards, sunny borders, Mediterranean and gravel style gardens
• 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