How to care for an olive tree

Do you love decorating with olive trees in your home? Here is how to care for an olive tree and add a beautiful natural element.

Recently, I got a beautiful olive tree as a gift from my friend. Olive trees are popping up everywhere in interior decorating. These plants with their wispy, grayish, green leaves are the latest craze. Olive trees tolerate dry air and dry soil so if you are like me sometimes forget to water your plants, this would be a good choice. Thanks to my friend I’m joining this popular trend of decorating with olive trees.

Sacred olive tree…

The olive tree has been considered sacred by the Greeks for thousands of years. If you visit the Acropolis in Greece, you will see the Sacred Olive Tree that is said to have been planted by Athena the Goddess herself.

Scripture (Gen.8:11) mentions that when the dove returned to Noah’s ark carrying an olive branch in its beak symbolized the “peace” to the world. We are familiar with the expression “extending an olive branch” meaning desire for peace to another person.

Interior decorating with olive tree…

These beautiful olive trees are a perfect addition to modern interior decorating with their deep-rooted symbol of peace and friendship.

Where to place and how to care for the olive tree

I placed my new favorite plant in the sunniest location in my house.

It is the first thing I see when I open my front door.

How to care for your olive tree

• Choose a location in your home that gets at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Olive trees loves the sun and dry soil.
• Preferably, use a container that is lightweight and few inches larger than the root ball with drainage holes. Planting in a larger container will mean you’ll have to re-pot less often. Also, larger pot will allow roots to expand. Choosing a lightweight container will be beneficial for you if you plan to bring it out when the weather warms and bring it inside when it cools.
• Olive trees don’t like slow-draining soil, so be sure use cactus potting soil with mixture of perlite, bark chips and place gravel on the bottom of the pot. Also, using perlite will help to keep the pot lightweight.
• Water when the potting soil feels dry to the touch. The soil should dry out between watering, then you should give it a good soaking until water runs out the bottom of the pot.
• If you want your olive tree to bear fruit, Arbequina or Picholine varieties are recommended. Also, the tree needs to be placed outside for a few months in order to bear fruit.
• Indoor olive trees are susceptible to scale insects, you can treat the tree by spraying with insecticidal soap. 

If you don’t have an adequate location for a real olive tree in your home, there’s always the faux olive tree.

Where to purchase…

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