Olive Trees

Olive trees are an absolute staple of Mediterranean cuisine. And, as more people take time to garden and grow their own food, olive trees are rising in popularity. Based on the climates they’re native to, you might be wondering if you can grow your own.

If you’re going to grow an olive tree, you must plant it in full sun. Olive trees are originally from warm, sunny parts of the world. They need the sun to grow olives, a lack of sun leads to a lack of blossoms, sunlight keeps olive trees healthy, and olives won’t ripen without proper sun.

Let’s take a more in-depth look at all the reasons why you should grow olive trees in full sun. Not only that, but we’ll also look at the different requirements for properly growing olive trees, and give you some tips on how to best plant them!

1. Olive Trees Need Enough Sun To Grow Fruit

There are plenty of types of trees that can still grow fruit without intense, full sunlight. With that said, olive trees are not one of them.

While they will also need the proper water and nutrients, the most important component for a bountiful olive harvest is intense, unfiltered sunlight.

All plants use some amount of light for photosynthesis. This is the process in which plants use sunlight and convert it into sugars that they need to grow and process crucial nutrients from the soil.

What Happens When An Olive Tree Doesn’t Have Direct Sun?

Without enough sunlight, olive trees simply do not have the extra energy to put into growing olives. Because olives are where the tree’s seeds are contained, they are actually entering the reproductive stage of their growth when they produce olives. 

If plants don’t have extra resources to put into their reproductive stage, they’ll devote the available energy to the preceding stage. That is the vegetative stage.

The vegetative stage is when a plant spends all its resources on its foliage. By growing more leaves, and expanding their leaves, the plants also hope to increase their ability to gather more sunlight. 

In short, full sunlight allows your olive tree to dedicate the resources it needs to the reproductive stage- when it grows the olives.

All in all, a lack of sunlight will severely impact your olive tree’s growth. If you’re interested in how long olive tree’s normally take to grow, take a look at our full olive tree timeline laid out!

2. Olive Trees Can’t Form Blossoms Without Sunlight

Before an olive tree even begins to produce olives, it has to go through the proper steps first. As we mentioned, growing olives are part of the reproductive stage of an olive tree’s life.

But there’s another critical part of the olive tree’s reproductive stage: growing flowers and blossoming. Then the flowers need to be pollinated before the next stage (growing olives) begins.

However, blossoms may not even begin to grow if your olive tree isn’t getting enough sun. Or, perhaps equally as disappointing, your olive tree might begin to form flower buds, only to have them drop.

Why Would An Olive Tree Drop Its Blossoms?

This is commonly referred to as blossom drop. It can happen for a variety of reasons, and often it’s as a result of an imbalance (or deficiency) of certain micronutrients. 

When it comes to blossom drop though, it isn’t always because of a nutrient deficiency. That’s especially true when it comes to subtropical plants that need a lot of sunlight, and that includes olives trees. 

3. Sunlight Keeps Olive Trees Healthy 

Olives trees need more sunlight than your typical house plant to stay healthy. Even if olive trees appear to be healthy, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they are.

In fact, no matter how the tree looks, if the olive tree isn’t getting enough sunlight it’s almost impossible to keep it happy and healthy.

This applies to olive trees grown both indoors and outdoors. If you plan on growing your olive tree indoors, it’s especially important to make sure you can give it enough light year-round.

There are a lot of different ailments that can arise as a consequence of olive trees not getting the proper amount of sunlight.

Even before olive trees reach the stages where they produce blossoms and subsequently, olives, they have to “bulk up,” so to speak.

What Happens If An Olive Tree Does Not Receive Enough Sunlight?

In the earlier stages of their lives, these trees are focused on growing vegetation to allow them to collect more sunlight, which then means that they can create more plentiful energy stores. 

Remember, sunlight is a crucial ingredient in the process plants use to feed themselves.

If a plant isn’t getting enough sunlight, chances are it also just plain isn’t able to feed itself. And any organism without some kind of food supply simply cannot sustain itself. 

4. Olives Won’t Ripen Without Proper Sun 

Even if your olives do begin to grow, that doesn’t guarantee you a successful harvest. The tree’s work isn’t done until the olives are ready to be harvested. 

Even after producing the initial fruit onset, there’s still plenty that the tree needs to do before the olives reach their full size and flavor.

If you are seeing olives on your tree, but they don’t seem to be making much progress, you may need to assess whether or not your olive tree is actually getting enough sunlight.

Here is a timeline of olive tree growth. It can help you know if your olive tree is developing at a normal rate!

What If The Olives Are Not Ripening?

If you’re growing your olive tree in a container, this is a much simpler issue to solve, especially if you’re growing it outdoors.

Take a look at the space you have for growing. If the area you have your olive tree in seems to have some shady spots during the day, you may need to move it. 

Try to find an area that gets the most sunlight during the day. This may mean you need to observe the area several times throughout the day. Make sure that the spot you’re scoping out is also free of obstructions that could block sunlight from getting to your tree. 

Of course, there’s nothing you can do about a cloudy day, but those will happen anywhere.

Possible obstructions can include: 

• Other plants and trees 
• Large vehicles 
• Garden and patio furniture 
• Fences and retainer walls 
• Homes, decks, and sheds 

This is just a partial list, but the principle is clear. Make sure there’s nothing getting in the way of your olive tree’s shade. 

What If You Can’t Move Your Olive Tree?

That can be a slightly more difficult problem. If your tree is already established, move anything that blocks the sun, and consider trimming other trees if they’re getting in the way of your tree’s light. 

Another important note: If you’re worried about your olives reaching their full potential, you also need to make sure they get enough water. In a study from The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, even with the same amount of sunlight, olive trees that have full irrigation (versus drip irrigation) produce a higher weight of fruit produced. 

How Much Sun Does My Olive Tree Need? 

Saying that olive trees need a lot of sun is one thing. However, to some people, 6 hours seems like a lot of sunlight, whereas other people might think full sun means a full 12 hours of unfiltered light.

How much sun does an olive tree need? Olive trees thrive on sunlight, and that means that six hours of sunlight is an absolute minimum. When you want a good harvest, you don’t want to do the minimum requirements for any of your tree’s care. Aim for a minimum of 8 hours of intense, unfiltered sunlight for your olive tree.

If you can, it’s even better to make sure your olive tree gets up to 10 or 12 hours of sun.

Granted, this may not be possible in all regions. And if it’s not, remember, the more sun you can give an olive tree, the better.

How To Make Sure Your Olive Tree Gets Enough Sun

As we reviewed above (in reasons to plant your olive tree in full sun), you should be carefully selecting the area in which you’ll place your olive tree. Along with that, you can also do your best to remove any obstacles preventing the sunlight from reaching your tree.

However, if you haven’t planted your olive tree yet, there’s a more precise way to check out the quality of sunlight in a given area.

A light meter is incredibly helpful when you need to check out an area for growing a plant with very high light requirements.

For plants like olive trees, we recommend using a light meter like the Dr.meter LX1330B Digital Illuminance Light Meter. Now, if you’re wondering why we chose this meter in particular, it’s because not only is it easy to use, but it also does the work for you.

Yes, it includes the ability to record and store data, meaning that you don’t need to babysit it and take recordings all day. Just set it in the spot and let it record, and check it at the end of the day.

Can I Grow An Olive Tree Indoors? 

Yes! However, your two main concerns with growing an olive tree inside are: making sure that you have a large enough planter for your olive tree and making sure your olive tree gets enough light.

If you want to grow an olive tree in the house, you need to make sure that there’s a large window nearby that gets plenty of sun. Even then, you may struggle to ensure that your olive tree is getting its daily dose of full sun.

It’s perfectly fine to supplement the light your olive tree gets, even if it’s not from natural sunlight.

Of course, natural sunlight is the preferred option, and it’s totally free. However, you can make sure your tree is happy and healthy by using lights to supplement natural light. Before you ask, no, a desk lamp or ceiling lights will not help.

What Type Of Supplemental Light Is Best?

Not only is the amount of light produced by incandescent light bulbs insufficient, but it also doesn’t contain the light spectrum needed. A lot of growers use HID (high-intensity discharge) lights. However, they put off a lot of heat, and you’ll also need to switch bulbs to get a full spectrum.

Instead, we recommend a full spectrum LED lighting setup. The advantages of these are endless. You can choose the kind of light to give your tree, and they use very little energy while also producing very little heat.

In all fairness, if it’s your first time using a grow light (the easiest term to find the proper lights for growing plants indoors), it’s not always easy to find the right one. To make it a little easier, we suggest this LBW Grow Light With Stand.

One of the first reasons is that it’s easy to set up, just like a normal lamp. Next, it has a few different light modes, and can even mimic the natural sunlight at its peak, around noon and the middle of the day. Plus, it comes with a timer, which is a serious benefit if you work away from home.

What Other Requirements Do Olive Trees Have?

It’s no mystery that olive trees can’t survive on ample amounts of sunlight alone. Of course, getting a good olive harvest also isn’t as easy as just watering your olive tree and making sure it gets plenty of light. 

So, what do you need to grow an olive tree? 

Here’s a quick overview of what olive trees need to grow: 

• Plenty of water 
• Full sun (6-12 hours a day) 
• A regular fertilizer regimen 
• The right soil 
• Pest protection 
• Maintenance pruning 
• Only appropriate mulching materials 

Next, let’s look at these factors a little more in-depth. 

How To Water Your Olive Tree 

Just because olive trees thrive in heat and plenty of direct sun, that doesn’t mean they’re also drought-hardy. In fact, it’s even more important to be vigilant about watering your olive tree than with other hot-weather trees. 

Now, olive trees also need soil that drains well. If your soil tends to hold an excess amount of moisture, there’s a centuries-old trick you can use to your advantage.

Planting your olive tree on a sunny slope can help your tree get all the sun it needs, while the slope also helps extra water drain away. This takes care of part of the soil requirements. 

For an in-depth guide for watering your olive tree, check out this guide!

Olive Trees Need Soil With Enough Nutrients 

Some people get lucky, and they already have nutrient-rich soil. However, not everyone is so lucky. If you’re part of the latter, you’re not alone.

Many people need to add nutrients to their soil to accommodate their plants. Another good piece of news is that while many plants need a special blend of fertilizer to cater them, olive trees do not.

Most typical, all-purpose garden fertilizers are perfectly fine for olive trees. However, it’s best to use a slow-release fertilizer to even distribute nutrients throughout the season.

Proper Olive Tree Care And Maintenance

If you have your tree set up and ready to go, that’s great! But what do you do after your olive tree is getting plenty of water, sunshine, and all the right nutrients?

You now have to do everything you can to help your olive tree keep thriving!

In this case, we’re not considering providing nutrients, sunlight, and regular watering as part of the ‘maintenance,’ although they are things you absolutely must do.

Right now, we’re going to talk about other ways to maintain your olive tree and keep it healthy to produce for another season.

If Growing Olives Outdoors: A Note On Mulch 

If you live in a climate where the weather can get chilly, and you grow your olive trees outdoors, you may need to provide some kind of insulation to the soil near the roots. This is important: don’t use the typical wood mulch. 

There are a couple reasons for this: first, the mulch can hold too much moisture. Second, the mulch is so highly carbon-based that it can create a nutrient imbalance. This is particularly true when it comes to nitrogen, although other nutrients are still affected. 

What’s the alternative? Pine-based mulching materials are the best option. Pine straw is certainly the top choice, but other pine mulches work as well. USA Pine Straw is a great option, with many devoted customers lauding the quality.

Here’s our guide for making your own pine mulch if you’d like to learn more!

Long-Term Care For Your Olive Tree 

Aside from regularly fertilizing and watering, there are other things you can do to keep your olive tree in tip-top shape.

Pruning olive trees is different from pruning other types of trees.

Pruning for olive trees is, unlike so many other fruiting trees, not necessary to get an optimal harvest. However, it can be necessary if you want to improve your tree’s shape, or even encourage it to grow in a way that makes it easier to pick off the wolves by hand.

Not only that, but it can make it easier to avoid damage from branches rubbing against one another, and it can help keep pests from lurking in the branches.

And on that note, another thing you need to keep an eye out for is pests. The good news is unless you live in a subtropical climate, where olive trees naturally grow, you don’t need to worry too much about pests: except for one type. Those are scale insects.

What do scale insects look like? They look like small, dark, circular bumps on your olive tree and typically hide in those ‘V-shaped spots where branches meet and underneath leaves.

If you see these, treat the affected areas immediately, and prune off branches as necessary.

If you’d like more info – take a look at our guide on pruning potted olive trees here!

Most Important Tip For Growing Olive Trees

One of the best tips for growing olive trees is: make sure they get enough water. That’s especially true if you live in an area prone to drought. 

The best way to tell if this is an issue for your olive tree is wilting, or curling leaves. While these can be symptoms of other issues, make sure it’s not a drought/excessive heat problem first. 

If you want more detail on how this works, the Journal of Experimental Botany published a wonderful study on how extra sunlight during a time of drought can actually have a negative effect on olive trees’ ability to photosynthesize. 

That’s A Wrap! 

We’ve gone over all the facts, and here’s our conclusion: olive trees need full sun to be healthy. 

Here’s why olive trees need full sun:

• Allowing the olive tree to be healthy overall, and be able to feed itself
• Helping the olive tree transition to the reproductive stage (where it produces blossoms and fruit) 
• Enabling olives to develop and ripen 
• Fueling their growth for harvest (and years of healthy life) 

Even if you grow an olive tree indoors, it’s still possible to make sure it gets a healthy level of sunlight. Remember, for olive trees, full sun is more or less equivalent to full health, and if you’re really determined to get many years of good harvests, you need to give your tree the necessities to make it happen.

If you were ever wondering, take a look at what happens after olives are finally grown on a tree!

Resources 

Agam, N., Cohen, Y., Berni, J. A. J., Alchanatis, V., Kool, D., Dag, A., … & Ben-Gal, A. (2013). An insight to the performance of crop water stress index for olive trees. Agricultural Water Management, 118, 79-86. 

Angelopoulos, K., Dichio, B., & Xiloyannis, C. (1996). Inhibition of photosynthesis in olive trees (Olea europaea L.) during water stress and rewatering. Journal of experimental botany, 47(8), 1093-1100. 

Gucci, R., Lodolini, E. M., & Rapoport, H. F. (2007). Productivity of olive trees with different water status and crop load. The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 82(4), 648-656. Iniesta, F., Testi, L., Orgaz, F., & Villalobos, F. J. (2009). The effects of regulated and continuous deficit irrigation on the water use, growth and yield of olive trees. European Journal of Agronomy, 30(4), 258-265.

If you’ve grown any type of tree or plant, you probably know that pruning is one of the best things you can do for your plant. We’re going to dive into the reasons to prune olive trees in pots and just how to do it, so keep reading!

Pruning helps keep your olive tree healthy. Removing unnecessary branches, improves air circulation, prevents overcrowding of branches, and helps prevent pests and diseases. It also promotes the new growth of flowers and fruits, by directing energy to the remaining branches and foliage.

Keep reading to learn why you should prune your olive trees in pots, and how to do it to make your olive trees grow stronger and healthier!

Should You Prune Olive Trees In Pots?

Absolutely yes, you should prune your olive trees!

Pruning your olive trees is a great preventative care tool to use. Additionally, it helps your olive tree grow stronger and healthier through the removal of dead, diseased, and damaged branches (the three D’s).

If you are growing an olive tree in a pot, you may have to begin pruning sooner than if it were planted outdoors in the ground.

When you choose to prune your olive tree is crucial for the health and well-being of your olive tree.

Make sure to prune your olive tree during the dormant period, during winter, this helps to ensure that pruning wounds heal before active growth. However, you can also prune your tree in late spring, which avoids the extreme lows of winter temperatures. 

Let’s dive into the reasons to prune olive trees in pots!

If you don’t know where to start with growing an olive tree in a pot, the Arbequina Olive Tree is a great way to get started. 

This cultivar of olive tree, arbequina, is a self-pollinating olive tree, which means that it yields fruit on its own and you don’t need another tree to pollinate it. Additionally, this olive tree is known to produce an abundance of fruit in hot and dry climates, and can even withstand temperatures of 20 degrees Fahrenheit. 

5 Reasons To Prune Olive Trees In Pots

1. Improves Air Circulation

Improving air circulation in your olive tree, or any plant is so important. By removing damaged, dead, and diseased branches (the three D’s), air can freely move throughout the entirety of the tree to help reduce the potential for mold, affliction, and rot.

Doing so helps remove any excess moisture that can lead to deeper issues on your olive tree.

This also allows light to get to the center of the tree and to areas that may have been blocked by the canopy and other branches.

2. Prevents Overcrowding

Have you ever seen branches growing over one another, or resting on one another? These are called crossing branches, and these are not healthy for your tree! Pruning these branches can drastically improve the health of your tree more than you would think.

If you have branches that are positioned poorly, and on top of one another, you are asking for trouble! Air and sunlight cannot penetrate these overcrowded areas, thus, leading to disease and rot. 

According to the New York Department of Environmental Conservation, pruning back branches that are damaged can help encourage wounds on your tree to heal faster. Additionally, it reduces the likelihood of more damage and encourages the development of a stronger tree.

3. Increases Fruit Production 

Along with improving the health of your tree, this is probably the main reason to prune your fruiting trees. Pruning can increase fruit production and quality.

By removing deadwood and non-thriving branches, the tree can now focus its energy on growing new olives. 

Olive trees will also thrive with the correct fertilizer.

They do best with a 16-16-16 nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium ratio fertilizer like Jobe’s Organics 09524 Purpose Granular Fertilizer. This fertilizer helps with disease resistance, improves the soil nutrient content, and contains a microorganism that breaks down fertilizer material for quicker results.

4. Maintains Plant Health

Despite what you might think, pruning your tree regularly keeps it healthy! I know it seems like you’re cutting off perfectly good growth and even may seem like you’re damaging the tree, but you’re not! 

Pruning removes the weak and unhealthy branches of your tree, allowing the stronger branches to proliferate.

The interior branches of the tree can now also receive more sunlight, get more air circulation and put their energy into growing. 

Since your olive tree can receive these benefits immediately, it helps your olive tree grow stronger, protecting it from damage and pathogens.

Pruning can also help eliminate competition with other branches.

Removing certain branches can help the dominant or central trunk flourish, rather than having to compete for resources with lateral branches.

You should of course, make sure to properly water your olive tree as well to supplement your pruning efforts!

5. Helps Control Pest Damage

Pruning your olive tree can also help limit the spread of other affected issues and pests. Pruning can also help remove pests or fungus that are already present. 

Certain fungus can be controlled by removing the affected branches, thus, pruning can help keep infections and pests under control!

According to the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program, one example of this is olive knot, which causes girdling branches and dieback. Although difficult to control, treatment for olive knot includes a preventative bactericide as well as pruning during the dry season.

How To Prune Your Olive Tree

So you have your olive trees in pots and you want to prune them, well just how do you do that? Let’s get into how to prune olive trees in pots, it’s not as scary as it seems!

According to the University of Maine, there is a natural tendency for trees to continuously grow shoots and branches, causing the interior parts of the tree and canopy to be shaded.

Basically, when sunlight can’t penetrate the interior parts of your olive tree, this inhibits the tree from flowering and causes branches to become weaker.

Determine The Age Of Your Olive Tree

Before you begin pruning, you’ll want to determine the age of your tree, the season, why you’re pruning in the first place, and what tools you’re going to use.

Your olive tree should be at least three years old before you begin pruning to allow the tree to acclimate without being disturbed.

Here’s a guide we wrote on the full timeline of an olive tree so you can help gauge the age of your tree, if you’re interested.

Prune During The Dormant Season

Next, you’ll want to prune during the dormant season, for the most part, but you can also prune during the spring and early summer once the buds open to determine your olive yield.

If you decide to prune outside of the dormant season, you’ll want to prune lightly. Over pruning, or heavy pruning during this time can severely weaken the tree. So to avoid this, you’ll want to do the majority of your pruning during the dormant season.

You’ll most likely want to shape your olive tree so it doesn’t get out of hand and grow wild since it’s a container olive tree.

Last, if you’re pruning and not shaping, you’ll want to remove dead, diseased, and damaged limbs, this is the best way to prune, and exactly where to start if you’re unsure.

Choose A Pruning Technique

There are multiple different pruning techniques, these include heading cuts, thinning cuts, and vase pruning.

Heading cuts are used to control the height of the tree, and are sometimes known as topping. When using a heading cut, you are removing the terminal shoots. 

By using heading cuts, you can control the thickness and compactness of the growth near the heading cut. This is helpful to shape your container olive tree and maintain its size. 

Thinning cuts are helpful and used to help promote airflow throughout the tree. Thinning cuts also help to increase sun exposure to the inner portions of the tree resulting in greater health and strength of your tree. 

Vase pruning is similar to thinning cuts in that it focuses on removing branches within the center of the canopy. This type of pruning opens up the center of the tree resulting in a larger yield and a more aesthetic shape. This is the most common type of pruning for olive trees.

Choose Pruning Tools

You can use a variety of tools when pruning your olive tree depending on the height and thickness of the branches. This could include hand pruners, loppers or lopping shears, or a pruning saw in consecutive branch size order.

Hand pruners are the perfect choice for branches less than ½ inch in diameter. The FELCO F-2 068780 Classic Manual Hand Pruner is a great option for hand pruning your olive tree.

Felcos are known in the horticulture industry for being an excellent choice for all your pruning needs!

Loppers would be used for anything between ½ inch to 1.5 inches in diameter. The Fiskars 394801-1003 PowerGear2 Bypass Lopper is another fantastic tool if you’re looking to trim hard to reach branches.

Pruning saws can be used for any larger diameter branches. The Fiskars 15 Inch Pruning Saw with Handle is perfect for any bigger branches on your mature potted olive tree. It makes quick and easy cuts and has a lifetime warranty.

You’ll want to first prune any of the three D’s (dead, damaged, or diseased). If it’s a young tree, you don’t want to remove the dominant trunk unless other dense branches are growing from the trunk that seems to be competing with it. 

You’ll also want to remove any branches that are crossing and resting on top of one another. Make sure to also remove low-lying branches as the tree grows. Because you are growing your olive tree in a pot, you’ll want to make sure you shape it as it grows.

That’s A Wrap!

So there you have it!

Pruning olive trees is super beneficial. Let’s recap why it’s so great for the health of your tree. 

Pruning olive trees promotes the new growth of flowers and fruits by directing energy to the remaining branches and foliage. 

Despite what it may seem like, pruning makes your tree healthier and stronger by removing the weaker branches. Pruning olive trees in pots improve air circulation, prevents overcrowding of branches, and helps prevent pests and diseases. 

There are two types of pruning cuts, thinning and heading, both can be used to prune your olive tree. Heading cuts can help control the thickness and height of your olive tree, and thinning cuts can increase sunlight exposure, airflow, and strength of your tree. 

When pruning you’ll want to make sure you remove the three D’s (dead, diseased, and damaged). As well as any branches that are crossing or lying on top of one another.

Thanks for sticking around and learning the reasons why you should prune olive trees in pots and just how to do it. 

We wish you the best of luck on your Tree Journey! Until next time, friends!

References

Breton, Catherine, Jean-Frédéric Terral, Christian Pinatel, Frédéric Médail, François Bonhomme, and André Bervillé. “The origins of the domestication of the olive tree.” Comptes rendus biologies 332, no. 12 (2009): 1059-1064.

El, S. N., & Karakaya, S. (2009). Olive tree (Olea europaea) leaves: potential beneficial effects on human health. Nutrition reviews, 67(11), 632-638.

Şahin, S., & Bilgin, M. (2018). Olive tree (Olea europaea L.) leaf as a waste by‐product of table olive and olive oil industry: a review. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 98(4), 1271-1279.

Sofo, Adriano, Salvatore Manfreda, M. Fiorentino, B. Dichio, and Cristos Xiloyannis. “The olive tree: a paradigm for drought tolerance in Mediterranean climates.” Hydrology and Earth System Sciences 12, no. 1 (2008): 293-301.

Spinelli, R., & Picchi, G. (2010). Industrial harvesting of olive tree pruning residue for energy biomass. Bioresource Technology, 101(2), 730-735.

Somewhere on the small island of Crete lies a 2,000-year-old olive tree that survived the Pompeii volcanic eruption in AD79 and the fall of Rome AD64. Can you imagine the resilience required to survive a volcanic eruption!?

Young or recently planted outside olive trees should be watered consistently to ensure the tree gets established. As an outdoor tree matures, a drip irrigation system can encourage root growth. Indoor olive trees are much easier to manage since you can control their temperature and moisture.

Olive trees remind you of sitting in a Mediterranean restaurant. The well-dressed, seemingly ancient-looking, silver-leaved tree provides gorgeous drupes called olives. Their graceful, yet simple look may attract those to get Olive trees in their garden or in a pot inside their homes.

What Are Olive Trees Exactly?

Scientifically known as Olea europaea, Olive trees are also known as shrubs. They are native to the Mediterranean basin, Asia, and Africa.

Olive trees stand short but can sometimes grow up to 25-40 feet. They are super slow-growing trees that can flourish both indoors and outdoors if cared for properly.

They grow small, white, and feathery flowers, small drupes (Olives) that are thin-fleshed. Olives are harvested in their green up to their purple stage. Surprisingly, olives are not native to the Americas.

Imagine! The olives in our drinks and scrumptious food aren’t native to America. According to historical records, the Spanish brought olive trees to the Americas when they cultivated the tree in Peru, Chile, and Argentina.

Ask yourself a few questions.

1. Is your Olive Tree planted inside or outside?
2. Do you live in an area with limited water availability?
3. Is your Olive Tree sapling young?

Their ability to survive in hardy conditions and grow in HOT, DRY summers makes them incredibly resilient in the Mediterranean climate. Unfortunately, the Mediterranean climate didn’t include frigid winter temperatures (below 20 F). The cold weather can damage or sometimes even kill a tree.

6 Most Commonly Found Indoor/Outdoor Olive Trees

Mission Olives

Generally, much more tolerant of cold temperatures, these Spanish natives have been grown in California since the 1700s.

They are grown in USDA growing zones 7-10 and require full sun exposure.

Picholine

These French varieties are great for growing in a pot! Their olives are most common in France and are great for snacking and cooking. The olives have a spicy yet nutty flavor.

They can be found in USDA growing zones 8-10 and ALSO require full sunlight!

Arbequina

These varieties are often encouraged to be grown in containers as you can shape them to the size of the container, they fit in. Just like the Mission variety, these are also tolerant of cold weather.

These can be found in USDA growing zones 8-10 and *ding ding ding* require full sunlight! 

Manzanilla 

If you look closely enough, you will recognize these as what you find in your drinks and hummus. These are the most commonly consumed olives in the United States! This olive tree variety makes a good-looking addition to your landscape (but take note- these are very SLOW-growing).

Unlike the other varieties listed above, this one is not as cold-weather-tolerant. YIKES! Make sure you are careful when exposing this tree to cold weather. This variety loves USDA growing zones 8-10 and expects FULL sunlight!

Norcellara Del Belice

These olive trees produce mild-favored and butter-textured olives that are popular worldwide. The olives grow well in USDA growing zones 8-11 and require full sunlight. This cultivar is also fairly resistant to pests and diseases!

So, you wouldn’t have to worry too much about protecting them from damage. That being said, any tree should be monitored for pests and potential issues. Just because a tree is resistant doesn’t mean they are 100% protected.

Gordal Sevillano

Looking for a snack to make? Look no further! This olive tree can produce some good-tasting, firm yet chubby olives. These olives are fairly soft and can be added with cheese, fruit, and pimientos for a yummy snack!

These trees, when mature, look super graceful with their long, sweeping vines. They love growing in USDA growing zones 8-11 and require full sunlight!

How To Water Your Indoor Olive Tree

New olive tree potted plants are very sensitive and should be looked after very carefully.

1. Check the soil! Use your finger to check the top layer (approximately 1 inch) of the soil before considering watering more. If the soil is wet to touch, DON’T water the plant. Olive tree plants don’t like wet soil! 

2. Make sure the soil is well-drained. Olive tree plants prefer growing in rocky, well-drained soils. 

To imitate the dry, well-drained ground in the Mediterranean, you can add plenty of compost, some sand, gravel, or rocks at the bottom of the pot, and mix properly before planting the olive tree.

Make sure the rocks or pebbles are placed at the bottom of the pot in a pot with sufficient drainage holes. 

3. Water the olive tree thoroughly. Too little or too much water can permanently damage olive trees and eventually lead to the end of the tree. If the plant is young or newly potted, olive trees should be watered thoroughly once every 5 days or when you find the topsoil layer (1 inch) dry. 

If you are not comfortable sticking your finger in the soil, you can also use a moisture meter. Try XLUX Soil Moisture Meter! It provides reliable and accurate readings of moisture content in soils! 

The dial is big enough that reading isn’t a problem, while the instructions are CLEAR! Just stick it in the soil and moisture reading is instantly provided.

4. If the soil is wet, then you should avoid watering the olive tree as you can risk the plant rotting. 

5. While watering your indoor olive tree, if you want to be extra nice to your olive tree, consider taking your plant outside every month and cleaning the bottom of the leaves. 

Sometimes pests (such as leaf-footed bugs or stink bugs) can be found on your leaves and feeding on your plant. If you don’t take care of those pesky pests, they can damage your plant. According to the University of Florida, olive trees are generally considered pest and disease-resistant trees, but it’s always good to keep an eye out. 

And just so you know, once you get olives, you aren’t supposed to eat the olives directly off an olive tree.

How To Make Your Indoor Olive Tree “Winter Resistant”

If you live in areas with milder winters (temperatures never drop below 20 F), there isn’t much you need to do for your indoor olive tree.

• Try to give your olive tree a lot of SUNLIGHT. Remember, its roots are used to the Mediterranean sun. It loves the sun! Try placing it next to a window in your home with lots of sunlight throughout the day (try South-facing windows.)

• Every time you get tempted to water the plant, check the soil first! Your plant can endure low water, but cannot tolerate too much water. Use your finger or the moisture meter to check the moisture in the soil before you decide to water.

If you live in an area where winters are harsher, here are some tips to maintain your olive tree:

• Try to put your olive tree again in a South-facing window but not too close to your window if your winter includes extreme cold temperatures. Remember that cold and hot temperatures can radiate directly from windows.

• Make sure not to over-water them during winter. Too much moisture in the winter is not good for olive trees!

Do Olive Plants Need A Humid Environment?

Olive plants do not necessarily need a humid environment. Many other indoor plants love a gentle mist of humidifier around it to keep the plant perky and happy. 

You will be happy to know that olive plants don’t need that. A good water down occasionally should be good enough.

So, this must make a lot more sense now, right? Olive trees need a lot of sunlight, and they mostly prefer proper sun. Do not make the mistake of trying to stick them in the shade!!

How To Water Your Outdoor Olive Tree

Outdoor olive trees are exposed to many weather elements compared to indoor olive plants. There are a lot of factors that determine how and where you plant the olive tree. 

If the olive plant has been growing in a pot indoors, plant it at a similar depth outdoors in the ground. As a young olive tree, it should be watered frequently to ensure it becomes established.

1. For the newly planted Olive trees, provide them frequently watering for the first few months. Especially in the dry months.
   
2. If possible, consider installing a drip irrigation system for the newly planted olive tree. If you need help in terms of an irrigation system, consider buying a Flantor Garden Irrigation System.

An irrigation system is also good for when you are traveling and still need a fixed watering schedule. Imagine worrying about watering your plants while you are on vacation!

3. You can cut back on the watering once every week after the olive tree is established. 

4. To ensure that the water is still draining, make sure the soil around your olive tree is draining well.

Signs Your Olive Tree Has Had Too Much Water

So, as we discussed before, olive trees love dry, arid climates like in Mediterranean areas.

Thus, they don’t necessarily require too much water. If you notice any of these below, you may be over-watering your olive tree.

• Weak or rotting stems
• You don’t notice visible new growth
• Lower leaves start to yellow

Signs Your Olive Tree Has Had Too Little Water

Even though Olive plants can live in an arid climate, like every other plant, they need water to survive and flourish. Although they don’t need a constant water source, they will enjoy good watering. 

• Stunted growth
• A noticeable gap between soil and the plant pot edge
• Dry or crisp leaves

How To Make Your Outdoor Olive Tree “Winter Resistant”

You will be pleasantly surprised to know that olive trees are capable of surviving cold temperatures. If you live in an area with dry winters, the olive tree will resist the winter weather.

In an area where winters get precipitation, here are a few steps to protect your olive trees:

• Create a slope around the bottom base of your olive tree to ensure that roots don’t get excess water and get damaged. 

• A good thing to remember: Olive trees can survive dry times, but they struggle with excess water or moist environments. (i.e. keep the area fairly free of standing water.) 

• Consider using mulch or pine straw or moss around the base of the olive tree to protect it from freezing. 

• Once the winter months are over (springtime), you can continue irrigation or regular watering. 

How To Maintain Your Olive Tree For Long-Term Growth

• If for any reason you feel like consulting the internet hasn’t answered your questions, go see a plant specialist or horticulturist!

• Monitor your olive tree indoors and outdoors soil water content. Your soil shouldn’t be too dry or too wet, otherwise, the plant will be damaged.

• Olive trees need diverse soil and cannot survive in heavy clay soil. Heavy clay soil will hold on to water the most and prevent proper drainage.

Remember how we discussed that proper drainage is crucial for an olive tree to flourish? 

When Is The Best Time To Fertilize Your Olive Tree?

If you have recently planted a young olive tree, fertilizing would be beneficial. However, once the olive tree is established, fertilizers will help the tree stay healthy! If you are wondering what proportions, a 16-16-16 (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) ratio or something similar would work.

• A good time to fertilize would be the start of spring and up to fall. So, the months between March and September are a good rule of thumb!

• If creating a fertilizing mixture for your olive trees is a bit too much work, you can also consider TreeHelp Premium Fertilizer for Olive. The product is specially formulated for olive tree fertilizing use.

A single 1.5 kg bag can treat a single large tree or 2-3 smaller or newly planted trees. The package comes with additional how-to-use instructions.

Practice Proper Olive Tree Soil Management

Olive trees are fairly tolerant of different soil situations, but they are NOT tolerant of poor draining soil. You could be surprised to learn most of the olive trees don’t survive because of stagnated water around them!

Make sure the soil is drained and placed on a slope of a kind that can automatically drain soils of water. As mentioned, spring and summer are good times to irrigate soils around olive trees.

As young olive trees, they are ok with well-drained soil. But as the tree matures or if you choose to plant it in the soil, you can consider putting a drip irrigation system a little further from the olive tree’s base so you can encourage the roots to grow a bit more.

How Long Will Olive Trees Survive?

These drought-resistant trees can survive for a very long time if you provide them with proper water and care. Although they can survive suboptimal conditions, they can provide better fruits if they are cared for properly.

While the average lifespan of on olive tree is around 500 years give or take, some olive trees can live to be thousands of years old. The oldest living olive tree in the world is somewhere between an impress 4,000 to 5,000 years old, according to The Smithsonian.

Now of course, that’s the VERY rare exception.

Let’s keep in mind that olive trees need draining soil (no standing water), full sunlight, and water to keep the soil moist (not wet) for long term growth.

You will also have to remember that proper and regular irrigation during the spring and summer months helps prevent extra dryness.

It is also important to know the growing times and patterns of your olive tree. You can learn more in our complete timeline on olive growth to learn about when olives actually come on the tree!

That’s A Wrap!

Aside from their ability to produce beautiful fruits known as olives, Olive trees are also aesthetically pleasing to humans. In their young age, they do require some attention, but as they mature into healthy trees, they can do with scheduled maintenance. In fact, too much attention may be harmful to the tree.

If you still feel uncomfortable with taking care of an olive tree (indoors or outdoors), don’t hesitate to reach out to a local horticulturist.

They are experts in taking care of plants! Sometimes a few questions and pictures of your plant will go a long way!

References:

Marc Greven, Sue Neal, Steve Green, Bartolomeo Dichio, Brent Clothier, The effects of drought on the water use, fruit development and oil yield from young olive trees, Agricultural Water Management, Volume 96, Issue 11, 2009, Pages 1525-1531,ISSN 0378-3774.

Osman, S. M., Khamis, M. A., & Thorya, A. M. (2010). Effect of mineral and Bio-NPK soil application on vegetative growth, flowering, fruiting and leaf chemical composition of young olive trees. Res. J. Agric. & Biol. Sci, 6(1), 54-63.

R. Gucci, E. Lodolini & H. F. Rapoport (2007) Productivity of olive trees with different water status and crop load,The Journal of Horticultural Science and Biotechnology, 82:4, 648-656.

Olives are most comfortable growing in Mediterranean climates. But did you know you can grow olives in North America? Not only can you grow them in specific areas in the United States, but you can also grow them indoors.

It takes around 3 to 6 years for olives to grow on outdoor trees and around 1 year indoors. The negative aspect of indoor trees is they don’t get to experience the natural season cycles that outdoor trees receive. Olive trees can be transplanted outside in warm climates once mature.

Growing olive trees is not difficult but they do require certain provisions to provide you with the best harvest. Let’s dive in to learn more about how long it takes olives to grow and how best to facilitate that growth!

Where Do Most Olive Trees Grow In The World?

Olives like to be warm and cozy so they like growing up in Mediterranean countries. You can’t blame them! You will notice when buying olive oil most of the best brands come from that area. The top places for growing the best olives are Spain, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Turkey, Chile, and Argentina.

Olive trees thrive in places that enjoy warm spring and summer months and cool winters but nothing below 15 degrees. While they like it warm they don’t like it too hot and they still need some cool air for the olives to reach their optimum size and taste. Olive trees do not do well in tropical temperatures.

What Areas Of The US Are The Best Places To Grow Olive Trees?

California leads the way in the United States with the highest number of olive trees making it the top producer of olive oil. The other areas that are the best places that successfully grow olive trees are Georgia, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Alabama, Oregon, and Hawaii.

Texas is next in line with more than 250 olive oil growers across the state!

If you want to know where the olive oil you are interested in purchasing is from making sure you check the label on the bottle. It should tell you everything from where the oil was produced to the date of the press and when it expires.

What Zones Are Best For Growing Olive Trees Outdoors In The US?

If you are an experienced gardener you are already familiar with this, but if you are just starting, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a map of where you can find out what you can and cannot plant in your area. The USDA Planting Map posts a complete map of the United States with the zone numbers listed for every area.

The best places to grow olives outdoors in the US are in zones 7 to 10. You can find the map on the USDA’s site and just locate your state and area where you live to see if you are living within this range. The following list tells you what each zone encompasses and which olive trees will grow well in these areas.

The zones listed may show a state but you will have to look up your specific area to see if it is part of this zone hardiness area.

• Zone 7 includes areas in the Pacific Northwest, Utah, Nevada, California, Arkansas, Texas, Arizona, Virginia, Tennessee, New Mexico, New Jersey. and Pennsylvania.

The best olive trees for Zone 7 are Mission, Picual, Arbequina, and Manzanilla.

• Zone 8 includes South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, California, and Arizona.

The best olive trees to grow in Zone 8 are Arbosana, Arbequina, and Koroneika.

• Zone 9 includes areas in California, Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and Arizona.

The best olive trees you can grow in Zone 9 are Frantoio, Mission, Ascolano, and Manzanillo.

• Zone 10 includes much of South Florida, coastal California, and a bit of south-central Arizona.

The best olive trees you can grow in Zone 10 include the Mediterranean tree, the Arbequina olive tree, the Pendolino olive tree, the Koroneiki Greek Olive tree, and the Mission olive tree.

Do Olive Trees Need To Be Pollinated?

Pollination of olive trees happens when the trees have flowers. The pollen from the male portion of the plant, the anthers, joins the female portion of the plant, the stigma. These spring flowers will later become ripened olives.

Not all olive trees need to pollinate because many are considered self-pollinating. This process means that instead of having to be planted next to another similar tree to produce olives, pollination can occur via the wind or even by bees. 

Make sure you purchase your olive trees from a reputable nursery. Most of the olive trees sold are self-pollinating but the professionals will be able to confirm that for you.

How Do You Plant An Olive Tree?

If you have found that you live in a zone that is conducive to growing olive trees, the next step is to find just the right area to plant them. Find an area in your yard or garden that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of full sun each day.

Make sure that the soil you are using for your olive trees is light enough to remain drained at all times. Olive trees will not thrive in heavy soil that is thick and clay-like. Most importantly, give your tree plenty of room to expand so the roots have a good amount of space to spread out through the years.

Can You Plant an Olive Tree from Seeds?

The quick answer is yes, you can plant an olive tree from seeds. The long answer is you have to get a fresh olive and not one that you purchased from a grocery store and just finished eating. If you know someone who already has an olive tree you may be able to get fresh seeds from this person’s tree.

Popular Florida horticulturist, Stan DeFreitas, will guide you in planting olive trees with seeds in this informational YouTube video Gardening from Seeds: How to Plant an  Olive Seed. If you have the patience, you can do it, but it’s not cheating if you buy the tree already growing!

How Do You Plant Indoor Olive Trees In Pots?

The first thing you need to do to grow an olive tree indoors is to find a type of tree that will grow well indoors. When purchasing a new tree at your local nursery, make sure that someone who specializes in indoor plants and trees helps you make your selection.

Next, look for a window that gets at least 6 to 8 hours of sunlight every day. Transfer the tree into a pot that is large enough for the roots to fit but also provides them with room to grow. Before you leave the nursery pick up a bag of potting soil that drains freely.

Water your olive tree thoroughly every week. Put another container under the pot so you can let the water drain out of the bottom. When the tree starts to grow more slowly, during the fall and winter seasons, you can cut back on watering it to one time a month.

During these slow-growing months, you can give it a dose of a houseplant fertilizer that includes nitrogen once a month a well. In the spring you can increase the type of fertilizer to one that provides a slow-release twice a month.

8 Olive Trees That Are Perfect For Growing In Pots Indoors

Koroneiki Olive Trees

Koroneiki olive trees are perfect for growing in pots in your home as they are easy to grow and virtually maintenance-free. Their leaves are larger than most olive trees but you will be able to see olives by the first year. Talk about immediate gratification!

This tree should be placed in an area that gets full sun but it can also thrive in partial sun as long as it is at least for 6 hours a day. You can fertilize it between 4 to 6 weeks later when the tree becomes dry but you can cut that down during the winter season.

Perfect for making olive oil.

Arbequina Olive Trees

This tree is the most popular olive tree for growing indoors. They are self-pollinating and the colors they offer make them an asset to your interior décor. Look for the beautiful flowers that begin to bloom in spring and change colors until they become yummy ripe olives.

Place the pot in front of a window that faces the south and gets sunlight for a minimum of 4 to 8 hours every day. Water when dry and you can enjoy your first olives in the first year.

Perfect for curing and making olive oil.

Mission Olive Trees

Mission olive trees started as popular trees in Spain but they have become equally as popular in California. They are already self-pollinated so they are ready to grow and produce great-tasting olives.

Mission olive trees can take cooler temperatures so if you don’t live in an area that is warm most of the time this will is the perfect olive tree for you to grow indoors.

Mission olive trees make great indoor plants, they have pretty leaves that are both green and gray, and they remain free of diseases as they grow indoors.

Perfect for making your olive oil or brining the olives for a snack.

French Picholine Olive Trees

This tree bears the most popular olives in France. When the fruit of this tree grow and ripen they have a flavor that is nutty with a spicy kick. The olives are picked when they are still green to use as a snack or stay on the tree until they turn black to make a nice olive oil out of them.

The Picholine is well suited to be an indoor plant as it is easy to grow and will thrive if you keep it pruned.

Perfect for snacking as well as making olive oil.

Manzanilla Olive Trees

These olives may hail from Spain but they have achieved the status as the number one olive in the United States. They are almost always brined and topped with a red pimiento.

They can be eaten in foods, like potato or tossed salads, in martinis, or even snacked on alone.

Their requirements are few – they don’t need to be pruned much but they do like warm air rather than cool air.

Perfect for snacking, charcuterie boards, salads, and martinis.

Amfissa Olive Trees

This olive tree comes from Greece and is one of the most popular olives in that area. It makes a great indoor plant because it is self-pollinated and compact so you can slip it into a corner as long as it gets enough sunlight. 

While you may not see olives for a couple of years when they do ripen they will have a purplish-brown color with a buttery, salty flavor.

Perfect for making olive oil or brining the olives.

Nicoise Olive Trees

If you have ever had a niçoise salad you will know why the name of this olive sounds familiar. They come from France but they are Ligurian olives from Italy. Once these olives reach maturity they are dark brown and are brined with a variety of herbs enhancing their smoky flavor.

They love the warm weather and thrive in dry heat. You can expect to see olives on your inside pot in about two years.

Perfect for niçoise salad, tapenade, and on a variety of salads.

Kalamata Olive Trees

Another favorite among olive enthusiasts in the US, Kalamata olives grow primarily in Greece. They have dark skin that is shiny and purple in color.

They like warm conditions but not too hot and keep their soil wet but do not overwater (they are like the Goldilocks of olives, everything needs to be just right!)

These olives are rich in vitamins making them a healthy and nutritious snack. The trees do not grow very fast and it could take about three years to see your first edible olives.

Perfect for snacking, Greek salads, topping pizza, and adding to pasta dishes.

What You Can Do With Your Ripe Olives

• Eat them raw – many olive purists don’t need anything done to their favorite varieties. Most olives have enough of a unique flavor to make them enjoyable to munch on just as they are. However, we don’t recommend eating olives straight from the tree.
  
• Marinate them – in a mason jar, combine about ¼ cup of olive oil with a couple of tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Add in garlic, bay leaves, fresh rosemary, and some lemon rinds along with about 2-3 cups of olives. Refrigerate from two hours to two weeks. Enjoy!
  
• Make your own olive oil – this is completely doable but it is time-consuming for a fairly small yield. The easiest instructions that I found online were this video: How to Make Olive Oil at Home. It is just over three minutes and is easy to follow with no special equipment needed.
  
• Make a tapenade – slathering homemade tapenade on crusty Italian bread will give you the ultimate olive-tasting experience!

Supplies You Need To Grow Your Own Olive Tree

You can find everything right here on the Internet to get started – from the pots to grow them in, to the olive trees themselves!

• Arbequina Olive Tree– this live plant comes with a special blend of food, especially for this type of tree, as well as a planting guide. You can expect a tree that is around 2 – 3 feet tall.
  
• TreeHelp Annual Care Kit for Olive Trees – for a nominal amount this care kit will make sure your trees are healthy and give you the tastiest olives. It includes a bag of premium fertilizer and can take care of one large tree or a couple of smaller ones.
  
• Large Outdoor Tall Planter – this 20-inch planter is just the thing for indoor trees that may need to go outside every once in a while. It includes a drainage tray so your tree does not sit in water.

To learn more about how long it takes other trees to produce, check out our article Here’s How Long It Takes To Grow An Avocado Tree (Timeline).

That’s A Wrap!

We hope this guide helps broaden your knowledge about olives! Feel free to refer back to it as needed to know how long it takes olives to grow and which ones grow best indoors.

I don’t know about you, but now I’m in the mood for some tapenade! Until next time!

References

Chiraz, M. C. (2013). Growth of young olive trees: water requirements in relation to canopy and root development.

Eleftheriou, E. P. (1987). A comparative study of the leaf anatomy of olive trees growing in the city and the country. Environmental and Experimental Botany, 27(1), 105-117.

Sofo, A., Dichio, B., Xiloyannis, C., & Masia, A. (2005). Antioxidant defences in olive trees during drought stress: changes in activity of some antioxidant enzymes. Functional Plant Biology, 32(1), 45-53.

Perpetuini, G., Prete, R., Garcia-Gonzalez, N., Khairul Alam, M., & Corsetti, A. (2020). Table olives more than a fermented food. Foods, 9(2), 178.

You see olives lining the grocery shelves in glass jars, cans, and often several varieties arranged beautifully in the salad bar. But raw, unprocessed olives seem to be missing from the produce section. This seems to beg the question, can you eat a raw olive straight from the tree?

You can eat an olive straight from the tree, but raw olives are extremely bitter. This is because they contain the compounds oleuropein and ligstroside, which curing removes. Raw olives also have a different texture and contain pits, different from preserved olives.

In this article, we will discuss the regal olive and five reasons you should not eat olives straight off the tree. Let’s get to it!

Raw Olives Are Very Bitter

Let’s say you are walking among a grove of olive trees, enjoying the weather, you look all around you at the beautiful olives gracing the branches and you pluck one off to pop into your mouth. That wonderful moment of whimsy would be ruined as soon as you bite into the olive. 

Your mouth would not be greeted with the pleasant briny saltiness of a green olive from the jar. Nor would you get the soft, earthy, almost sweet taste of the ripe black olives from the cans.

Instead, an intense bitterness would assault your tastebuds, and your first instinct would be to spit the fruit out immediately. If you tried to muscle your way through the bitterness, you might gag on it. 

The Texas AgriLife Extension speaks about the bitterness of raw olives. Olives are a drupe, or stone fruit, like peaches. They are not palatable fresh because of the presence of glucoside, a bitter compound.

Therefore, olives must be processed to be served as food. They are pressed for oil or processed with lye and salt.

If you decide you want to process your own olives, you will need a source of the raw fruit. Luckily, olive trees can even be grown in rocky soil. You can learn more about it in this article, 7 Best Fruit Trees for Rocky Soil (And How to Plant Them).

Olives Have To Be Treated To Remove The Bitterness

When olives are harvested, they have to be cured or treated to remove the compounds oleuropein and ligstroside, which cause intense bitterness. These compounds protect the plant from insects and other predators who would normally consume the fruits. 

There are different methods to remove the bitterness from olives such as brining, dry salt curing, lye treatment, and water curing. 

Each of the above methods of curing either removes the bitter compounds from the olives or reduces them enough to make the olive much more palatable. Each method of curing takes weeks or months to leech out enough of the oleuropein and ligstroside compounds to create the delicious olives we are used to consuming. 

Raw Olive Texture Differs From Prepared Olives

Another reason not to eat raw olives is the texture. Straight off the tree, raw olives do not have the soft texture and pleasing juiciness to them. They are actually hard and almost crunchy. Also, the less ripe they are, the stronger the flesh clings to the pit inside. 

Olives start off green and slowly change color as they ripen. Green olives are the most immature and most bitter and crunchy of raw olives, whereas dark purple, brown, or black olives are more ripened. In this stage, the fruit has become softer and separated more from the pit, but they still have a very bitter taste unless cured. 

Raw Olives Have Pits

Like cherries, peaches, and plums, olives are stone fruits or drupes. Stone fruits have a fleshy outer fruity area surrounding a stone, or pit, which protects the seed inside. 

Most of the olives you purchase at the grocery store have already had the pit removed, so you can consume them easily or prepare them in your recipes. You can buy raw olives with the pits in them, but you will have to cure them to remove the awful bitterness, as well as having to remove the inedible pits. 

Olives Should Be Washed After Being Picked Off The Tree

Alright, you ignore the warning about how bitter olives are, or how they are rather crunchy, and you still want to put it into your mouth. Before you do, though, consider the environment.

You are outside; the wind is blowing, birds are singing in the trees and the olive could be crawling with dust, bacteria, and even bird droppings. Do you still have the desire to eat the raw olive?

You should always wash your produce before consuming it at home, but out in the olive grove, there are probably few places you can scrub all the unseen contaminants off. This is just another reason you should not eat a raw olive fresh from the tree. 

Olives From The Tree Need To Be Cured Before Consuming

Another reason you should not eat olives straight off the tree is they have to be cured first. The bitter compounds have to be removed by a curing or fermenting process to make the fruit palatable. Let’s look at a few different curing methods.

Please note, the below curing tips are for informational purposes only. Consult a curing expert for more info 🙂

Brining

After harvesting fresh olives, they get soaked in a saltwater solution anywhere from 2 to 6 months. The saltwater solution needs to be replaced several times during this process to remove the bitter compounds. 

This process takes much longer if you leave the olives whole because the water has a harder time penetrating the smooth skin of the olives. If you pit the olives before the saltwater bath or cut slits into the fruits, then the brining process is shorter. 

Lye Curing

Lye, also known as caustic soda or sodium hydroxide, is used in many processes. However, when used for curing olives, the lye has to be completely removed and the olives washed well before you can consume them. 

Lye works to break down the chemical bonds between oleuropein and the sugars present in the olives. This also changes the texture of the olives from hard and crunchy to soft and tender.

Once the process is done, the olives need to be washed several times to remove all traces of lye. The treated olives usually get packed in a brine solution for storage. 

Water Curing

Fresh olives can be split or cut and soaked in water to remove the bitter compounds. This process takes the shortest amount of time, but water curing removes the least amount of oleuropein, so olives treated this way will still retain some of their bitterness. 

Water-cured olives get soaked in a bath, changing the water daily for a week or two depending on the desired level of bitterness. Afterward, pack the olives in a vinegar, brine solution for storage.

Dry Salt Curing

Smaller, ripened olives are used for the dry salt cure method, which shrinks the olives a bit, leaving them soft and wrinkly. Dry salt curing is another method that does not remove all the bitter compounds, leaving a slightly bitter taste in the finished product. 

Dry salt curing takes 5 to 6 weeks to finish. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Raw Olives

Can You Eat Raw Fresh Olives?

Yes, you can eat raw olives, but most people will not want to after the first bite. There may be some people who have built up a tolerance to the bitterness in raw olives, but these people are the ones growing and harvesting them. They need to taste them to make sure they are growing a good crop. 

How Do You Prepare Olives Off The Tree?

There are several factors involved when preparing olives from the tree. What flavors you are looking for, how ripe the olives are, how much time you will spend on preparing the olives, and what variety of olive you will use are all questions you need to be taken into consideration when preparing fresh raw olives. 

Some olives benefit from brine or lye curing, whereas if you are looking to keep some of the bitterness for extra flavor, you could think about water or dry salt curing. It all depends on what end product you are looking for. 

When Can You Eat Olives Off The Tree?

Since there is such an intense bitterness in olives on the tree, you cannot eat them until they are cured to remove those bitter compounds. Unless you are attempting to win a bet, or you like to torture yourself, it’s best to leave the olives on the tree alone. 

That’s A Wrap!

There it is, 5 reasons you should not eat olives straight from the tree. They are extremely bitter, the texture is not what we are used to with olives, and they have pits in them. Fresh olives are not clean, and raw olives have to be cured first to be edible. 

Olives have been processed and eaten for thousands of years, and even our earliest ancestors knew they needed to be cured one way or another. All to become the delicious fruit we now put on pizzas, consume as appetizers, or add to our salads. 

If you find yourself meandering among a grove of olive trees in a fairytale Mediterranean setting, resist the urge to pluck an olive from the tree. Whatever you do, do not put it in your mouth.

The resulting shock of crunchy, hard, and breathtaking bitterness will leave a foul taste in your mouth. Stick to the jarred, prepared varieties instead, you’ll be glad you did.

References

Barbaro, B., Toietta, G., Maggio, R., Arciello, M., Tarocchi, M., Galli, A., & Balsano, C. (2014). Effects of the Olive-Derived Polyphenol Oleuropein on Human Health. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 15(10), 18508–18524.

Rebecca L. Johnson, Alyson E. Mitchell, “Reducing Phenolics Related to Bitterness in Table Olives”, Journal of Food Quality, vol. 2018, Article ID 3193185, 12 pages, 2018.