Australia plant library · tree

Olive

Olea europaea subsp. europaea · Oleaceae

Mediterranean look; drought-hardy hedges and fruit.

Photo: Palauenc05, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Sun: Full sun (6+ hours).
Soil: Well-drained; tolerates poor, low-nutrient soils (better crops in fertile soil).
Water: Water regularly until established; then drought-tolerant. Deep weekly watering improves fruiting.
Hardiness: Temperate and arid (Mediterranean) climates; needs long, hot, dry summers and cool winters for flowering. Fairly frost-tolerant; not suited to the tropics.
Height and spread: 6-10 m.

Guv's tipOlives are drought-tolerant once established, but deep weekly watering improves fruiting. Watch for olive lace bug from early spring.

Through the year

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Harvest

Prune

Timings are for temperate Australia. Tropical and arid gardens follow different seasons.

Harvest or flowering

Flowers early spring; harvest mid-autumn to early winter (about Apr-Jun). Fruits from 3-5 years.

Pruning

Formative open-vase pruning when young. Light winter pruning of dead, low and crossing branches and suckers; light pruning after fruiting.

Making more plants

Semi-ripe cuttings in late summer (also seed, which does not come true for named cultivars).

Watch out for

Pest

Olive lace bug

Look for: Sap-sucking bugs under leaves; yellow stippling or spotting, browning and leaf drop. Can defoliate young trees.

What to do: Monitor from early spring and act promptly. Spray leaf undersides thoroughly (e.g. horticultural oil or pyrethrum) and open up the canopy by pruning.

Disease

Peacock spot (olive leaf spot, olive scab)

Venturia oleaginea (Spilocaea oleaginea)

Look for: Sooty blotches that become dark circular leaf spots, sometimes with a yellow halo; leaves yellow and drop early.

What to do: Spray copper fungicide in late autumn ahead of wet-season infection; repeat in early winter if severe. Collect fallen leaves.

Always read and follow the label on any treatment, and check it is approved for use where you live.

Safety and spread

Pets and people: Not listed as toxic by the ASPCA or University of California pet-poison lists.

Weed risk: DECLARED in South Australia as wilding (feral) olives: sale of wild plants is banned; planted, maintained trees are exempt. A major environmental weed in South Australia and Victoria (not a declared weed in Victoria). African olive (subsp. cuspidata) is a separate major weed in NSW.

Checked against two or more reputable gardening sources. How we check our facts

Keep it by the back door

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