How to Landscape With Olive Trees
Overview
The olive family of trees are native to the Mediterranean and evoke a distinctive mood with their dusty, fine foliage, airy canopy and prominent fruits. Olive trees can be planted as ornamental specimens, as functioning orchard trees, in small stands and even pruned into topiary or elevated tree hedging.
Step 1
Grow olive trees in climates with long, hot growing seasons in keeping with their Mediterranean heritage. Ensure sites are free from late spring frosts but sufficiently cold winter temperatures to set fruit, if fruit production is desired, with temperatures above 28-degrees Fahrenheit.
Step 2
Site your olive trees where they will receive full direct sunlight daily and are not shaded by canopy trees. Place fruit bearing olive trees away from hardscape to prevent staining and regular cleaning maintenance.
Step 3
Allow a planting location to accommodate the height and spread of your olive tree at maturity with a maximum height of 50 feet and a width of 30 feet unless you plan to prune it consistently. Plant multiple trees at intervals of at least 20 feet unless growing as an elevated tree hedge.
Step 4
Plant your olive trees in well-drained soil where water does not pool and with a neutral to slightly alkaline soil not to exceed an 8.5 pH. Plant near where irrigation is available as the natural climate range of olive will have dry summers making supplemental irrigation is necessary.