Olive Tree

Olea europaea

Trees & StatementModerateSlow🐾 pet-safe

Good to know: Olive trees can live for well over a thousand years. Indoors they seldom fruit: flowering needs about two months of winter below 50 °F, and most varieties set fruit better with a second tree nearby. Self-fertile 'Arbequina' is the usual indoor choice.

Through the year 🗓️

🍂 Fall now

Bring it in before frost, to your sunniest window, and expect some leaf drop while it adjusts.

❄️ Winter

Keep it cool (40–55 °F) and bright, water sparingly, and skip feeding. The chill is what sets flower buds.

🌱 Spring

Prune for shape before growth starts, repot if needed, and resume feeding.

☀️ Summer

Outdoors in full sun is ideal once nights stay above 50 °F. Water deeply whenever the top 2 in dry.

The details

Light & placement

Light: Full sun: six or more hours of direct light, from a south window or a strong grow light. The most light-hungry tree you can keep indoors.
Ideal PPFD: 400–800 µmol·m⁻²·s⁻¹
Grow-light distance: 8–12 in below LED

Water & feed

Watering method: Water deeply when the top 2 in are dry, then let it drain completely. A drought-tough Mediterranean tree: it forgives a missed watering far more readily than wet feet.
Fertilizer: Balanced or citrus feed at ½ strength, monthly in spring–summer; none in winter.

Home & habit

Soil: Gritty, fast-draining mix (potting soil with ⅓ pumice, perlite or grit); pH 6.5–8.0
Humidity: Low to average (30–50%); dry air is fine
Temperature: 60–80 °F while growing; a cool winter at 40–55 °F helps it flower
Mature size: 4–6 ft indoors with pruning
Repotting: Every 2–3 yrs in spring, into a heavy terracotta pot one size up
Propagation: Semi-hardwood cuttings in summer, with rooting hormone and bottom heat. Slow and fussy.

When something looks wrong

Overwatering signs: Yellowing leaves that drop, soggy soil, black roots
Underwatering signs: Leaves curl inward, turn dull and crisp, then drop
Common pests: Scale, spider mites, mealybugs

Care notes: Light decides everything. Most indoor olives that drop their leaves are simply in too dim a spot, so give it your sunniest window or a summer outdoors. Pinch new tips to keep it bushy and prune in late winter. Some leaf drop after coming indoors in fall is normal; it releafs in spring if the light is good.

Common problems 🩺

The usual suspects when Olive Tree looks unhappy. Most houseplant trouble is watering or light, not disease — see all plant problems if you are not sure which plant is the culprit.

Dropping leaves indoors

Likely cause
Not enough light, usually after moving it inside.

What to do
Move it to your sunniest window or under a strong grow light; it releafs in spring.

Yellow leaves while the soil stays wet

Likely cause
Overwatering in a pot that drains slowly.

What to do
Let the top 2 in dry before watering, and grow it in gritty mix in a terracotta pot with a drainage hole.

Sticky leaves and brown bumps on the stems

Likely cause
Scale insects.

What to do
Scrape them off or dab them with rubbing alcohol, then treat with horticultural oil every 2 weeks until clear.

More like this 🌿

Fiddle-Leaf Fig

Avocado Tree

Bird of Paradise

Calamondin Orange

Have an olive tree?

Track it in DueDrop, with watering every 10 days, feeding every 28 days, prefilled for you.

Start tracking free