2019 Design Trends: Olive Trees! The Ultimate Guide.
So you know by now there are certain things I just love and can't get enough of... Olive Trees are one of them! I have 3 live olive trees and also will be sharing a round up of my favorite faux ones soon too! And to be honest, I'm typically a plant killer. Like fiddle leaf figs... um, no. I killed them all (so sad!!). What's great about olive trees is that in my experience, they're quite tolerant. They grow naturally in a dry, Mediterranean climate which is similar to what you'd find inside a home. Olive trees are kind of the latest houseplant craze so a lot of the long term info on how they do indoors just isn't out there, so thought I'd share what I've learned so far! The trees I've had are doing well and seem to be low maintenance in my opinion (though even indoor plants can vary depending on location/climate). Here are my tips for olive trees:
- STEP 1: Make sure your tree is planted in a pot that has drainage-- you want the excess water to be able to leave the pot so that the roots aren't sitting in water which can cause the plant to die. I will be sharing a video in my instagram stories soon with a couple inexpensive pot options and will link them below as well. NOTE: even if you are using a basket you will need a pot for the plant-- the pot will then go in the basket. You also want to make sure that the pot is a few inches larger than the roots on each side so it has some room to grow. If you want it to stay the same size, then you can plant it in a pot that just fits the roots (usually around the size of the bucket it came in).
- STEP 2: Make sure you have a tray! I learned this the hard way! This is where the excess water will collect. Some pots like this one, have a built in tray so it looks more seamless. Or you can get an inexpensive separate one that will go at the bottom of the basket and the pot will sit inside it.
- STEP 3: Get the right soil! Contrary to what one might assume, you don't want a soil that retains a lot of moisture. I used this one-- it helps mimic the type of soil these trees would naturally grow in. You may even put some gravel or rocks at the bottom inch or so of the pot to help with better drainage as well. I haven't tried this yet, but heard it helps.
- STEP 4: You want to mix a little house plant fertilizer into the soil. Here's the indoor plant fertilizer I just got to try out. It's really inexpensive & seems like a really easy one to use. I found the reviews to be helpful! I'll let you know what I think as I use it. They say to add it about every 6-8 weeks.
- STEP 5: Watering your plant-- don't over do it! This is how I have killed many a plant. You want to fully saturate the soil and then let it dry out. Once the top inch or so is dry, you can then water it again. There isn't a certain amount of time (like water once a week) because there are so many factors that affect how much water the tree takes in-- the dryness of the air, the temperature, the time of year. Olive trees don't drink as much water in the fall/winter since it's not their growing season so just be aware of this!
- STEP 6: Lots of sunlight! You want to shoot for 6-8 hours a day or even more if you can. South facing windows are ideal, but I've also had my large olive tree near North facing windows, but in a room that gets lots of light!
- STEP 7: You may need to re-pot every 6 months or so if you want your tree to continue growing in size. Otherwise, just leave it as it is and enjoy!
One more thing to note, I've had some people ask about olive trees actually producing fruit. Mine have not so far. Usually they have specific things that need to happen for fruit to grow-- like a dip in temperature that would happen in their natural environment-- the cooler temp help sets the fruit, but typically your home is going to be a pretty consistent temperature, thus not signaling the tree to produce olives. Anyway, if your tree puts out blossoms in the spring, this would be a sign that it is going to produce fruit. You would just need to get something like this growth regulator (I think you can find it for less locally) to spray on it once the blossoms are open to eliminate it turning into olives (if you don't want olives of course :). Again, I've never had to deal with this and doubt you will, but thought I'd mention it just in case! Here are some more photos of my own olive trees and you've probably seen them all over Instagram & Pinterest too! P.S. I'll link some favorite basket options too-- just be sure to check the width measurements of your pot & basket to make sure they work well together!
SHOP OLIVE TREE SUPPLIES:[show_shopthepost_widget id="3441456"] SHOP OLIVE TREE BASKETS:[show_shopthepost_widget id="3441500"] 