Arbequina olive

Sun

Full sun; choose a warm, sheltered position for reliable fruit ripening.

Water

Water regularly while establishing and during fruit development; established trees tolerate drought. Let container compost begin to dry between thorough waterings.

Soil

Well-drained soil, including sandy, stony or chalky ground; tolerates moderately alkaline conditions. Avoid waterlogged clay and standing winter moisture.

Height

15-20 ft (4.5-6 m), usually smaller in containers

Spread

10-15 ft (3-4.5 m)

Flowers

Small creamy-white flowers in late spring to early summer.

Foliage

Evergreen. Narrow, leathery grey-green leaves with silvery undersides.

Growth

Slow to moderate

Care needed

Medium

• Deer resistant
• Drought tolerant
• Heat tolerant
• Wildlife
• Edible

Northern hemisphere months. In Australia, shift them by six.

Difficulty

Hard

Toughness

Fairly tough

Pick your zone, country, light and whether you have pets.

1. Planting day

   7 ft (2 m)

2. After 1 year

   7 ft (2.1 m)

3. After 2 years

   7 ft (2.3 m)

4. After 3 years

   8 ft (2.4 m)

5. After 5 years

   9 ft (2.6 m)

About 26 years to full size.

From a typical nursery size, at an average rate for this kind of plant. A rule of thumb, not a forecast.

Cats and dogs

Safe

Invasive in

the US and Australia

Growth rate

Slow

• Plant after severe frost risk has passed, keeping the root flare at soil level.
• Water deeply through the first two growing seasons; avoid frequent light sprinkling.
• Use a container with generous drainage holes and a free-draining, loam-based potting mix.
• Feed container trees with a balanced fertiliser in spring; avoid heavy nitrogen feeding, which encourages leafy growth rather than fruit.
• Keep mulch away from the trunk and remove weeds around young trees.
• Protect young trees from hard freezes; move pots into a bright, cool, frost-free place where winters are severe.

Pruning. Prune lightly in late spring, after the risk of hard frost, removing dead wood, basal shoots and crossing branches. Thin crowded growth rather than shearing the whole crown, because olives flower and fruit on the previous season's shoots.

Expect a first worthwhile crop about 3-5 years after planting a young nursery tree, depending on climate and care. Hand-pick olives from autumn into early winter, either green at full size for curing or as they turn purple-black for riper fruit and oil. Fresh olives are intensely bitter and must be properly cured before eating; oil extraction requires suitable equipment.

Late winter

Check frost protection and container drainage; keep sheltered trees lightly watered rather than completely dry.

Spring

Plant once severe frosts are over and begin feeding container-grown trees.

Late spring

Prune lightly after frost risk has passed, preserving plenty of last year's growth.

Summer

Water during prolonged dry spells, especially in pots and while fruit is swelling; inspect for scale insects.

Autumn

Pick full-sized green olives for curing, or leave fruit to darken for a later harvest.

Late autumn

Move containers under bright, cool shelter in cold climates and clear fallen fruit.

• Use as a small specimen tree in a sunny gravel garden with lavender and rosemary.
• Grow in a large container as a focal point in a courtyard or on a sheltered terrace.
• Train with a clear trunk above low, drought-tolerant planting to show its bark and silver foliage.
• Include in a small edible garden or orchard where summers are warm enough to ripen olives.

Garden styles it suits: Mediterranean, Modern Mediterranean, Modern courtyard, Dry gravel garden, Edible landscape and Tuscan villa.

Plant it with: Lavender, Rosemary, Thyme, Santolina, Rockrose and Society garlic.

Wildlife: Birds may eat ripe olives and spread the seeds. The evergreen crown provides shelter; flowers are mainly wind-pollinated rather than a major nectar source.

• Root rot in wet soil: improve drainage before planting, avoid overwatering and never leave a pot standing in water.
• Peacock spot: dark circular leaf spots and leaf fall are encouraged by damp conditions; remove fallen leaves, improve airflow and avoid wetting foliage.
• Scale insects: inspect stems and leaf undersides, prune out badly affected shoots and use a locally approved horticultural oil according to its label.
• Olive fruit fly where present: larvae spoil fruit; collect fallen and infested olives promptly and follow local monitoring and control advice.

Olive leaves and fruit are not known to be toxic to cats, dogs, horses or people. Raw olives are very bitter, pits are choking and intestinal-obstruction hazards, and salty cured olives are unsuitable treats for pets.

Where it spreads. Olea europaea spreads by bird-carried seed and is invasive in parts of California and southern Australia, particularly South Australia, Victoria and Western Australia. Arbequina is a fruiting cultivar, not a sterile alternative; check local advice before planting near bushland and collect unwanted fruit.

• Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)

  Usually deciduous, with alternate leaves that are silvery on both sides, sometimes thorny branches and pale, mealy fruit; true olive has opposite leaves with greener upper surfaces.

• Sweet olive (Osmanthus fragrans)

  Has broader, glossy green leaves without silvery undersides and strongly fragrant flowers; it is not the tree grown for culinary olives.

Olea is the Latin name for olive, europaea means European, and Arbequina takes its name from Arbeca in Catalonia, Spain.

Propagation. Propagate from semi-ripe cuttings in summer, usually with rooting hormone and a free-draining medium; rooting can be slow. Seedlings do not reliably retain Arbequina's characteristics.

Accepted botanical name

Olea europaea

In the US and Canada

Introduced in Hawaii and the lower 48 states.

Native range

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Baleares, Botswana, Burundi, Canary Is., Cape Provinces, China South-Central, Cyprus and Djibouti.

Measured

Soil pH 6.5 to 7. Average height 450 cm.

Sources: GBIF (CC BY 4.0), USDA PLANTS and Trefle (CC BY 4.0). The care and design notes are LandscapeGPT's own.