Growing Olive Trees in Pots
Yes, olive trees grow beautifully in pots — they’re one of the most forgiving container trees you can keep, provided you get three things right: a big enough pot with sharp drainage, as much direct sun as you can offer, and a little shelter when hard frost threatens. Olives evolved on thin, rocky Mediterranean hillsides, so a container that stays gritty and never waterlogged suits them far better than rich, sodden ground. A potted olive won’t give you a proper harvest the way a mature orchard tree does, but it will live for decades, throw silvery evergreen leaves all year, and reward you with the odd handful of fruit once it settles.
Below is the practical version — what to plant it in, how big to go, and how to nurse it through a cold winter without losing it.
Choosing the pot, compost and position
Start bigger than feels necessary. A young whip is happy in a 30–40 cm pot, but an olive you intend to keep for years wants to end up in something roughly 45–60 cm across and just as deep. The trick isn’t to jump straight to the largest pot — a small root ball drowning in cold, wet compost is the fastest way to sulk a tree — but to pot up in stages every two or three years until you reach that final size.
Drainage matters more than almost anything else. Olives loathe wet feet. Use a container with generous holes, sit it on pot feet so water runs clear, and mix your compost coarse: roughly two parts a soil-based compost (a John Innes No. 2 or 3 type) to one part horticultural grit or coarse sand. That grit is not optional — it’s what keeps the root zone open and mimics the free-draining ground olives came from. Skip the water-retaining “moisture control” composts; they’re the opposite of what an olive wants.
For position, the rule is simple: the sunniest spot you have. Six hours of direct sun is a minimum; eight or more is better. A south- or west-facing wall, terrace or balcony is ideal, as the masonry holds warmth into the evening. Olives also appreciate air movement, which keeps foliage dry and fungal trouble at bay — just avoid a spot that funnels cold, drying wind in winter.
| Tree stage | Pot diameter | Compost mix | Re-pot every |
|---|---|---|---|
| Young whip / nursery plant | 30–40 cm | 2 parts soil-based : 1 part grit | 2 years |
| Establishing (3–6 yrs) | 40–50 cm | 2 parts soil-based : 1 part grit | 2–3 years |
| Mature / final home | 45–60 cm | 2 parts soil-based : 1 part grit | Top-dress yearly; re-pot 3–4 yrs |
Watering, feeding, pruning and winter care
The single most common way to kill a potted olive is kindness with the watering can. In a container the roots can’t range for moisture, so you do need to water — but let the top few centimetres of compost dry out between soaks, then water thoroughly until it runs from the base. In high summer on a hot terrace that might mean every day or two; in cool, damp spells it might be once a week or less. Feel the compost rather than working to a fixed schedule. Through winter, when growth halts, keep it barely moist — never sodden.
Feed lightly through the growing season, roughly spring to late summer. A balanced liquid feed every couple of weeks, or a slow-release granular feed in spring, keeps the leaves a healthy grey-green. Ease off entirely from autumn so you’re not pushing soft new growth into the cold. Olives are not hungry trees; over-feeding gives you lush, frost-tender shoots and little else.
Pruning is light and forgiving. Late spring is the moment — once the worst frosts have passed. Take out dead, crossing or inward-growing wood to keep an open, airy goblet shape that lets light into the centre. Potted olives are also happy being kept compact or trained as standards, so don’t be shy about shaping to fit your space. If you want to understand fruiting wood before you cut, our olive tree encyclopedia walks through how olives flower and set fruit on the previous year’s growth.
Winter is where potted olives need a hand that ground-grown trees don’t. Olives are hardier than people expect — an established tree tolerates brief dips to around −5 to −10°C — but a pot is exposed on all sides, so the roots feel cold far more sharply than roots in open ground. The fruiting itself depends on a cool winter spell to trigger flowering, so an olive doesn’t want to be coddled indoors in a warm room; that dry, heated air causes leaf drop and rarely ends well. Instead, leave it outside through normal cold and only protect against hard, prolonged frost.
When a real freeze is forecast, move the pot to a sheltered spot against a house wall or into an unheated porch, greenhouse or cold conservatory. Wrap the container — not the whole tree — in hessian, bubble wrap or fleece to insulate the roots, and raise it off cold paving on feet. A thick mulch of gravel or bark over the compost surface helps too. The aim is a bright, cold-but-not-freezing rest, then back into full sun as spring returns. If you’re curious about which varieties cope best with cold, the olive varieties guide notes that types such as Arbequina and some Tuscan selections are often grown for their relative hardiness — though a variety’s name reflects where it was selected, not a single guaranteed origin or performance everywhere.
Growing olive trees in pots: common questions
How big a pot does an olive tree need?
Aim to end up around 45–60 cm across and equally deep for a tree you’ll keep long-term. Pot up in stages rather than jumping straight to a huge container, since a small root ball sitting in a mass of cold, wet compost is prone to rot.
How often should I water an olive in a container?
Let the top few centimetres dry out, then water thoroughly until it drains from the bottom. That might be daily in a summer heatwave and weekly or less in cool weather. Keep it only just moist over winter — waterlogging kills far more potted olives than drought does.
Can a potted olive tree survive winter outside?
Usually yes, if it’s an established plant and you protect the roots during hard frost. Olives actually need a cool winter to flower, so don’t bring them into a warm room. Move the pot to a sheltered wall or unheated greenhouse in severe cold and wrap the container to insulate the roots.
Will an olive tree in a pot produce olives?
It can, but don’t count on a big crop. Fruiting needs plenty of sun, a cool winter to trigger flowering, and a few years of patience. Many people grow potted olives chiefly for the evergreen silvery foliage and treat the occasional handful of fruit as a bonus.