A most useful tree that can be grown in any temperate climate ( zones 8-11 ). It also can be grown in containers. The tree itself is attractive and usually becomes gnarled with age. It bears the olive of commerce that reach up to 1-1/2" in diameter and are filled with oil. The flowers are tiny and yellow, the foliage a light grey-green.
Common olive is a slow-growing broadleaf evergreen fruit tree or shrub that has a gnarled trunk, silvery-colored leaves, and a rounded crown. It grows 20 to 30 feet tall and 15 to 25 feet wide. The leaves are grayish-green on the upper surface and silver on the undersides and are elliptical to lanceolate. Small white, fragrant flowers bloom in the summer in 2-inch-long panicles. The fruit is a green drupe that ripens to a purplish-black. The fruits can be harvested at either stage and are important commercially as edible fruit, for making olive oil, and fuel. Olive branches are a symbol of peace.
Common olive prefers fertile well-drained soils with average moisture in full sun. They are drought tolerant once established. It can be grown outdoors in zones 8-10 or brought indoors or in a greenhouse in colder areas. It requires 2 months of temperatures in the 40-50 degree F range to flower.