Olea europaea 'Swan Hill'
Photo by Flickr user josh s jackson

fruitless olive

This plant grows well in the following regions:

  • CVCentral Valley
  • DTDesert
  • NCNorth and Central Coast
  • SCSouth Coast
Map of regions (click to enlarge)
map of California regions

Description

These lovely trees resemble the invasive Russian olive but do not spread to wildland areas. The recommended varieties have very much the same characteristics of other true olives (Note: Russian Olive is not a true olive) with the exception that they bear little to no fruit. Trees grow slowly to 25-30 feet tall.

Olive trees do best in deep rich soil but tolerate shallow, rocky, and alkaline soils. Plants prefer areas with long hot summers but may also tolerate areas along the coast.

The variety ‘Little Ollie’ (the smallest) grows to 6-8 ft. tall and wide and can be ideal for a hedge or screen. 'Majestic Beauty' is airy and fluffy looking, making it suitable as specimen or hedge or screen. 'Skylark Dwarf' is a large, multitrunked shrub to 16 ft. tall and wide. 'Swan Hill' has deep green leaves, bears no fruit, and has little or no pollen. 'Wilsonii' occasionally bears a small fruit crop.

Sun needs:

  • Full sun

Water needs:

  • Low water
  • Very low water
Water needs information from WUCOLS unless otherwise noted

More information