Olea europaea     
Olive   
Oleaceae Family     

Form: single or multistemmed tree or large shrub
Seasonality: evergreen
Size: 20-30ft with equal or slightly less spread
Leaves: lancolate, narrow, opposite, to 3in long, stiff, gray-green on top, underside lighter
Flowers: axillary clusters of small creamy white flowers; bloom in spring; allergenic
Fruit: edible olives, 1.5in across; green in late summer maturing to black; drops when ripe
Stems/Trunks: attractive trunk; gray; gnarled, bumpy and contorted
Range/Origin: Mediterranean; in cultivation for millennia
Hardiness: to 15°F, some injury below mid-teens

Olea europaea

LANDSCAPE VALUE:

• specimen tree
• shade
• beautiful character

CULTURAL REQUIREMENTS:

• Exposure: full sun, reflective light
• Water: low; none in winter, 1-2 times per month in summer
• Soil: deep, uniform
• Propagation: vegetative cuttings
• Maintenance: high; allergenic pollen, flower drop, messy staining fruit drop, pruning of basal suckers

NOTES:

curing fruit (to make edible) is complex process
outlawed in Tucson due to allergenic pollen
susceptible to Texas root rot

cultivars "Swan Hill" and Wilson's Fruitless" are legal and almost fruitless, also have wider leaves.

chemical sprays can successfully prevent fruit set
long lived; specimens known to be several centuries old

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This page was first created August 29, 2001 and last modified March 14, 2006.

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Web page design and photographs by Toni Moore, Master Gardener
email to: tmoore1@flash.net

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