Olive Trees

Olive Trees from Athelas Plants

The elegant, handsome, evergreen Olive tree (Latin name Olea europaea) captures perfectly the essence of the Mediterranean. The iconic olive tree offers fantastic character and Mediterranean charm planted in the garden or in a big terracotta pot sitting on a patio or in a courtyard. Despite their prominence in hotter drier Mediterranean climates, olive trees are very hardy plants that are easy to care for and which thrive in the British climate.  On top of all this, if positioned in a hot sunny spot a good crop of olives can be expected at the end of summer.

Olive trees (Olea europaea) have long symbolised peace, love, and abundance, and are the most popular plant choice for gifts to friends and family.

About the Olive Tree

The olive tree is a slow growing tree or shrub that is extremely long-lived sometimes surviving a millennia or more. The grey-green foliage is retained throughout the year, and displays of tiny fragrant, creamy white flowers appear in early summer. Following the flowers is the great novelty of growing your very own olives - small, round green fruit that ripen to black in late summer. The unique feature of mature olive trees is the character found in old, knarled trunks, no two being the same. 

Caring for Olive Trees

The olive tree (olea europaea) enjoys, loves, basks, in full sun, ideally if possible keep out of very strong winds. Olives are wonderfully hardy when established and will be fine in all but the coldest parts of the UK. Olive trees are not too fussy about soil types but they do have a preference for well-drained soil. 

If grown in pots Olive trees are best grown with loam-based compost with added grit for drainage. Raise pots on feet to improve the drainage in wet seasons.  Feeding Olive trees throughout the growing season is essential to promote strong healthy foliage. Olive trees are very drought tolerant, but they still enjoy a good drink during dry periods especially when planted in containers, and especially for less established trees.

Pruning is the key to keeping olives in good shape, prune back in late spring or summer to promote new growth and good shape, do not allow Olive trees to lose shape otherwise the foliage becomes sparse.

Buying an Olive Tree from Athelas Plants

At Athelas plants, we work hard to ensure that every plant that we send is healthy and arrives to you in a excellent condition. We've had many happy clients, who have been delighted with the plants and Olive trees that they received from us, as well as our excellent customer service.

If you have any questions about ordering an Olive tree or Olive shrub or Olive standard, please don't hesitate to contact us. We'll be happy to discuss any concerns that you may have, as well as provide advice on the choice of Olive tree or the care that it should receive.

And if you're in the area, why not pop into our East Sussex nursery for a visit?. We have a large range of mature Olive Trees that are not available online. You'll be able to check out the quality of our Olive trees in person and see our large selection of specimen plants and topiary.