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How to Care for your Olive Tree
INDOOR/PLANTER
If you have received your olive tree in a burlap sack, ceramic, wood or metal planter, you will see a plastic liner secured around the plastic nursery pot. This was strategically placed to keep your plant, soil and moss secure during shipping. To ensure the continued health of your plant, follow the steps below.
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Remove the plastic bag.
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Olive trees need good drainage, therefore take your plant out of the burlap sack, ceramic, wood or metal planter before watering. Use a saucer underneath the container to catch drips or sit the container on some bricks or blocks so the water can drain easily out of the holes.
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Provide full-partial sun in or near a window, with about 4-6 hours of sunlight per day. Water approximately 1-2 times per week, making sure the soil is dry before watering again. Avoid letting the leaves touch window glass, which can intensify the sunlight and burn them.
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Olive Trees can remain in containers indoors, however, they may not thrive over the long run. It is best to move potted olives outside or plant them in the ground when the weather warms up. In very cold climates, it is best to keep your olive tree outside in warmer weather and bring your tree inside during colder weather.
REPOTTING/TRANSPLANTING
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Always be sure to use potting soil that drains well. The procedure for planting your olive tree in the ground is essentially the same as for repotting it. Choose a sun-bathed area, sheltered from strong wind.
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For repotting, use a container with drainage holes. For your indoor tree, choose a container that's about one and a half to two times the width of your olive's shipped container. Fill it half-full with a good potting mix that drains easily or a sandy mix, such as a cactus potting soil. Mix perlite with potting soil with a ration of 1:4. If your tree is in a nursery container, turn it upside down and tap the bottom. Slide the tree out and gently separate the roots.
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In colder climates, you may need to keep your potted olive tree indoors during colder months and move it outside onto a sunny porch or deck during warmer months.
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Water your olive tree 1-2 times per week depending on overall environmental conditions, allowing the soil to dry before watering again. The worst thing you can do to an olive plant is overwater! Olive trees are not tolerant of overwatering, and letting it sit in soggy soil for a prolonged period of time can kill it. Allow excess water to drain freely from the bottom hole of the pots.
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It is important to note that different regions may require additional planting and care provisions. You may contact your local nursery or look online for further information regarding the best care for olive trees in your region.
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It takes around four to five years for the tree to produce olives, and they are alternate in fruiting: producing heavy fruits one year and light the next. For table uses, harvest fruits before they turn black. For oil, wait until the outer layer takes a dark shade of brown/black.
CARING FOR YOUR PLANTS BEFORE AN EVENT
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When shipping your plants out for an event, we will water them and ship them out 3 day shipping. They need to be watered a week from shipping date, unless temperatures are extremely hot, in which case they may need to be watered ahead of schedule. When placing your order, we will take all factors into consideration and discuss a plan that works best for you and your event.