Mission Olive

The Mission olive (Olea europaea 'Mission') is the dual purpose choice: a good black table olive and a good oil olive from the same tree. Left unpruned it reaches about 6m tall and 4m wide, though most garden and commercial trees are held at 3m to 4m for easy picking. The grey green foliage and gnarled trunk carry a garden on their own, and the roots are well behaved enough to plant near paving.

Why you'll love it

• Fruit worth harvesting. Mission is a proven dual purpose variety, curing well as a black table olive and pressing well for oil.
• It thrives on neglect. Drought tolerant, heat tolerant, salt tolerant, frost hardy and content in poor soil, so a hot dry corner suits it.
• Silver foliage all year. Evergreen grey green leaves flash pale in the wind and hold the planting through winter.
• Roots that stay out of trouble. Non invasive roots mean it can sit near a driveway, a path or a courtyard wall.

Where it works best

Feature planting. A single mature olive on a gravel bed or beside a rendered wall is the shortcut to a Mediterranean garden, and the trunk only improves with age.

Hedging and screening. Plant 2m apart for a screen. Olives take clipping well, so a row can be held loose and informal or trimmed to a firmer face.

Driveways and pots. The upright habit suits an avenue at 4m spacing. In a pot 500mm or wider it settles around 2m and stays productive with regular watering.

Growing Mission olive in Australia

Position and climate. Full sun and plenty of it. This is a plant for Mediterranean, warm temperate, arid and semi arid gardens, and it manages in the subtropics, though heavy summer humidity reduces the fruit set. It is frost hardy once established.

Soil. Drainage is the one requirement. Poor, rocky and alkaline soils are fine, and rich damp ground only produces soft growth. On clay, mound the planting bed by 300mm.

Water and feed. Water deeply once a week through the first two summers. After that it is genuinely drought tolerant, though regular water while the fruit is swelling improves the crop. Feed a complete fertiliser in early spring.

Pruning. Prune in late winter, opening the centre so light reaches the inner branches, since olives fruit on the previous season's wood. Holding the tree at 3m to 4m makes harvesting possible without a ladder.

What to expect when it arrives

It comes in three sizes: 200mm pots in packs of six, 75L and 90L. The 200mm plants are young, around knee height, and take four to five years to fruit meaningfully. The 75L and 90L trees are advanced, with real trunk character, and they crop far sooner.

Plants are delivered Australia wide, with delivery from $29.95. Advanced and large stock is freighted at cost. Expect a settling season before growth accelerates. Every plant carries our 30 day healthy plant guarantee.

Plant care guides and related reading

• Browse the full olive tree range
• Other edible plants and fruiting trees
• Drought tolerant plants for dry gardens
• Trees with non invasive roots

Common questions

Do I need a second tree for fruit?

Mission is self fertile, so one tree will set a crop. Planting a second variety nearby usually lifts the yield, which is worth doing if the harvest is the point.

How long until it fruits?

Three to five years from a small plant, and sooner from an advanced tree. Full production takes closer to eight years, so buying a larger size buys years.

Will the fruit make a mess?

Yes, if you do not pick it. Dropped olives stain paving and can self seed, so plant well back from paths or plan to harvest each season.

Can I grow it in a pot?

Yes. Use a pot 500mm or wider with free draining mix, expect a tree of about 2m, and water more often than you would in the ground. Root prune every three or four years.

Western Australia: this plant is listed as an environmental weed in WA, where it escapes from gardens into bushland. We do not recommend it for WA gardens. Please choose a local alternative.