Produced by
Patti Moreno
Contributor to:
How to Grow an Olive Tree in a Container
Perhaps it’s my Spanish heritage, or my love of peace, but for some reason I just love olives! The fact that they are a symbol of peace makes it a no-brainer for me to try to grow my own olive trees.
Of course, living in New England, was going to be a problem for my peaceful gesture but I still was compelled to plant olive trees no matter where I lived. I did the research and found that it was possible with a little extra effort.
Olive trees are grown best in zones 7-9. Living in Zone 6, which is where Boston falls, misses the mark, completely. However, what I did find was that it is possible to grow them in containers, which is right up my alley. The first thing I discovered is that Olive trees are evergreens and mature quite slowly so although they can eventually grow to be between 10-25 feet, I have years to come up with a final solution. Growing them in containers will stunt their growth and will make it easy for me to bring them indoors for the winter.
Transplanting the trees, is not difficult to do, as you will see from the video. There are a few helpful tips that I offer:
Use a larger container so you don’t have to transplant them so often. You see that I immediately transplanted mine from the 4” pots that they came in – into large galvanized containers.
Use containers that you can easily move around yourself. Placing your olive tree in a manageable container allows you to transport the plant based on the weather. Once temperatures reach the 60s and higher, it’s safe to bring them outside.
A larger container allows the roots more room to grow and allows the roots to access more nutrients in the soil.
Treat your olive tree like all plants; give it plenty of sunlight, water, and nutrients and trim it regularly. It will take a few years before you begin growing olives. Harvesting takes place from fall thru winter.
Remember, this is a long-term investment! Stay patient.
Peace!
