TyTy Tree Nursery Now Shipping Olive Trees for Growing and Landscaping

Olive trees have escaped the Mediterranean. They are now planted for oil, for fruit and simply for their silvery beauty across the American South, in pots on cold-country patios and in courtyards far from any grove. Here is what it actually takes to grow one — and where the sales pitch stretches the truth.

For a long time, growing your own olive tree meant living in the olive belt. Not any more. Hardy, cold-tolerant selections and a taste for the tree’s silvery, drought-proof good looks have pushed olives well beyond their old range — into the southern United States, into containers on northern patios, into ornamental plantings by pools and courtyards. Nurseries now ship young trees by mail to gardeners who will never see an Andalusian grove. It is a lovely tree to grow. It is also one that rewards understanding a few non-negotiables — and seeing through the more optimistic sales copy.

What an olive tree actually needs

The olive is undemanding in the ways that matter to a busy gardener and fussy in exactly two. First, full sun: this is a Mediterranean plant and it will sulk in shade, so give it the brightest spot you have. Second, and most important, drainage. The olive shrugs off drought but hates wet feet; more container olives are killed by soggy, waterlogged roots than by any pest or frost. It tolerates poor, alkaline, even mildly saline soils, and famously endures coastal salt spray. Water a young tree while it establishes, then ease off — an established olive needs watering only in severe, prolonged drought. Kindness, with this tree, is mostly restraint.

Need	What the olive wants	Common mistake
Light	Full, bright sun all day	Tucking it in shade and wondering why it sulks
Drainage	Fast-draining soil or a gritty pot mix	Rich, water-holding soil that rots the roots
Water	Deep but infrequent; drought-tolerant once set	Overwatering — the biggest killer of potted olives
Cold	Down to roughly 10°F/-12°C for hardy types	Assuming any olive survives a hard northern winter outdoors
Fruit set	A second variety nearby for cross-pollination	Expecting a lone tree to crop heavily

Fruit, or just good looks?

Be honest with yourself about why you are planting. If you only want the ornamental tree — that grey-green shimmer, the gnarled character — almost any olive in a sunny, well-drained spot will oblige, and many gardeners never let theirs fruit at all. If you actually want a crop, the game changes. Most olives are wind-pollinated and, although many are described as self-fertile, fruit set is far heavier with a second variety planted nearby to cross-pollinate. Thinning the young fruit gives fewer but larger olives. And you will still need to cure them — a fresh olive off the tree is inedibly bitter, a fact the ornamental-tree market politely omits.

Reading the nursery pitch

Mail-order tree copy tends to be sunny in every sense, so translate it. ‘Cold-hardy’ is relative: even the toughest olives suffer below roughly 10°F, and in genuinely cold regions the honest plan is a potted tree moved indoors or into a sheltered spot for winter. ‘Fast-growing’ and ‘heavy-bearing’ sit awkwardly next to the olive’s real nature: it is a slow, patient tree that takes several years to bear well and grows for centuries. Grafted, staked young trees need support and care to establish. None of this is a reason not to plant one — it is a reason to plant with your eyes open, and to buy the size and variety that suit your actual climate rather than the catalogue’s warmest promises.

Sun	Full, all-day sun
Soil	Poor to average, fast-draining; tolerates alkaline and light salt
Water	Deep and infrequent; drought-tolerant once established
Cold limit	Roughly 10°F/-12°C for hardy types; pot up in colder zones
For fruit	Plant a second variety nearby; thin the young crop
Reality check	Slow to bear; raw olives must be cured before eating

Practical takeaways

• Give it full sun and sharp drainage — and then water less than you think.
• In cold regions, grow it in a pot you can shelter over winter.
• For real fruit, plant a second variety nearby and be ready to cure the crop.
• Read ‘fast-growing’ and ‘heavy-bearing’ sceptically — the olive is a patient, long-lived tree.

Growing olive trees: common questions

Can I grow an olive tree outside the Mediterranean?

Often, yes. Hardy varieties grow across the southern US and warm temperate regions, and in colder climates olives do well in pots moved indoors for winter.

How cold can an olive tree tolerate?

Even hardy types start to suffer below roughly 10°F (-12°C). In genuinely cold regions, grow the tree in a container and shelter it over winter.

What kills olive trees most often?

Overwatering and poor drainage. The olive is drought-tolerant and hates wet roots, so soggy soil is far more dangerous to it than dry spells.

Do I need two trees to get olives?

Many olives are partly self-fertile, but fruit set is much heavier with a second variety planted nearby for cross-pollination. For a real crop, plant two.

Can I eat olives straight off the tree?

No. Raw olives are intensely bitter and must be cured — in brine, water, dry salt or lye — before they are edible.

An evergreen home-growing guide drawn from standard olive horticulture; hardiness and yields vary by variety and climate.