Olive Tree Care, Top 10 Tips

Olive Trees are a beloved and ancient plant - becoming ever more popular.

Read my Care Tips Below or click on the picture to watch my YouTube video.

Olive Tree Care Top Ten Tips

Olive Tree Care

Here is my best advice on how to care for your olive trees and olive plants.

1. Repot them every couple of years or so for vigour. The old #compost will be spent of necessary nutrients.

2. Add extra #drainage, think about their native climate, dry, arid well drained earth. They do not like wet, soggy roots. I put #crocks and gravel at the bottom of the pot to help excess water get away from the roots.

3. Pots are a limited resource and the plants need food, so feed them regularly, I use a tomato food.

4. Whilst they don't like wet soggy #roots they do need plenty of water. Give them a good soaking every week or two weeks depending on the conditions. But do let them dry out between soakings. Do not let them stay wet over winter they hate cold and wet together.

5. Remember they produce #flowers and therefore fruit on one year old growth, so if you want fruit your pruning needs to leave some one year old growth. They never flower on the same place twice.

6. Flowers and growth will only develop where there is good light. Which is why people often #prune them into an open vase shape. If you a not worried about fruit you can make a topiary ball.

7. They do need a couple of months of cold weather over winter to make the flower/fruit buds set. 2 months under 10 degrees. They are reasonably hardy even in the UK down to -8 or -9.

8. They are self fertile. They are wind #pollinated, put them where there is a breeze.

9. Don't feed late summer. This allows that year's new growth to harden off and also discourages new tender growth just before the damaging winter weather.

10. Mulch or top-dress your pots to retain moisture, supress weeds and feed/enrich the soil.